Forbidden Paradise
by Camilla Richard
Summary: This is the sequel to Guilty Pleasures. It continues that story. Let's just say all of the Heap characters still have some bizarre secrets. Read my author's note inside to find out more. The epilogue is up. This baby is complete everybody.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own this! I'm very tired of saying this.

Author's Note: Yep, that's right, I'm already back. I bet you're all thinking, oh great, not her again. But I promise this is a good idea. I bet my regular readers know what this chapter is going to be: my introduction! I always write one. I guess I should put a warning on this story. It's going to be darker than my last few and now that I am writing a sequel, I can kill people off again. *laughs evilly* Anyway, I hope everyone likes this. I have a lot of ideas for it. Oh yes, and I have to answer a very good question someone asked me this morning. She asked me why I didn't kill Clarissa in Forgotten. My answer to that is that I still needed her. She is still very dangerous. I hope this answers that person's question about Clarissa. If you are going to read this story, I recommend that you read Guilty Pleasures and Forgotten first, as they both play a role in this. In this chapter, I am going to introduce some odd side plots. I am pretty sure one of these side plots is not going to be popular at all with my readers, but please, bear with me. Those of you who have read my stories know that I have a way of making things work out in the end, it just takes time. This is for Izanami, Artemsia, and Iluvcatz, as usual. Especially for Izanami though because she asked me to write about Romulus. I am proud to say that he plays a very large role in all of this. I am very pleased with him as a character.

**New Author's Note: Hey guys, when I was trying to update the fic I am currently writing for this category, I got distracted and accidently ended chapter thirteen of A Heart of Stone onto the end of this fic because it is at the top of the list of "my stories" in my account. I was being a total ditz. I am really tired but hey, chapter thirteen of my current fic is up. I didn't mean to update this. It was an accident. I'm so sorry for any confusion this may have caused.**

Chapter One

Romulus Pye stared out the window of the Wizard Tower library. He was almost done cleaning it, but he was getting distracted. It was Friday and he was getting ready to go to his parents house for the weekend. Romulus had just passed his eighth birthday and therefore, he was still a little young to be living at the Tower all of the time. But all the same, Romulus enjoyed his days with his tutor, Septimus Heap, very much. Septimus was incredibly patient and kind. Sometimes, he even allowed Romulus to invite a friend or two over to spend the night, as long as they were gone before it was time for Romulus to begin his daily lessons. Romulus was learning the art of **magyk** fairly quickly, though not quite as quickly as Septimus himself had. Romulus's mother was the ex- ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Marcia Overstrand, who had been Septimus's mentor when he was a child. Marcia had retired to marry Marcellus Pye, the last alchemist, whom she had tried to hate, but found she could not. Romulus had inherited his mother's **magykal **gift but still, it wasn't much compared with the power of a seventh son. But all the same, Romulus was a hard worker and was becoming a skilled Wizard.

Septimus was extremely grateful for Romulus's presence in his life. It distracted him from thinking about things he no longer had any desire to think about. And yet, whenever Romulus wasn't there to keep him occupied, Septimus couldn't help these thoughts from flooding his head. Many of his thoughts revolved around a single person: Queen Jenna. Septimus was frustrated with himself when he thought of Jenna. He knew he should be over her by now, but he just couldn't help it. He still thought about her all the time. He didn't visit the Palace often because he realized that that would only fuel his obsession with Jenna. Septimus recognized that Jenna was angry with him for not visiting on a regular basis. She wanted Septimus to spend more time with her daughter, Delilah, who was barely three years old. Septimus was Delilah's godfather and he did love her very much. But, she was so much like Jenna in appearance that Septimus had trouble being around her. But of course, he loved Delilah very much. Almost anyone who encountered Delilah ended up loving her. She was one of those toddlers who does nothing but smile and laugh. Delilah's radiant, personality tended to rub off on all who were near her. Hardly a day passed when Septimus didn't wish Delilah was his own child, and not the child of his friend, Beetle, who had ended up marrying Jenna. Septimus had always liked and respected Beetle, but he had become more and more cordial toward him over the years and less and less friendly. It was hard to him to think about Beetle's relationship with Jenna. Even though he knew it wasn't the case, sometimes Septimus felt as though Beetle had stolen Jenna from him. Whenever Septimus had these types of thoughts, he tried his best to push them from his mind. He knew they weren't fair. He and Jenna never would have been accepted as a couple anyway.

Late that Friday afternoon, Septimus heard a tentative knocking on his door. "Come in, Marcellus."

Marcellus Pye entered the room, followed by his four year old daughter, Celesta. "Hello Septimus." he said, in that odd accent of his that Septimus had always found unique and quite a bit funny. "Is Romulus ready?"

"He should be." Septimus replied with a laugh. "He worked very hard this week and he deserves a break."

As if on cue, Romulus walked into the room. At the sight of her brother, Celesta cried, "Romulus!" Ceslesta missed her brother during the weeks. Her parents were good to her, but she missed having the company of another child with her.

"Hey Celesta, guess what I have for you?"

"What?" asked Celesta excitedly, she loved gifts. Marcia was always telling Romulus not to give Celsesta too many surprises because it might spoil her, but Romulus didn't think it would be possible to spoil his sweet sister.

"Okay." Romulus said authoritatively, "In order for me to give you the surprise, you have to give me something of yours."

Celesta fumbled around in her pocket and found part of an old rag doll which had more or less fallen apart. "Romulus, what about this?"

"Perfect." He responded, taking it into his hands. He rolled it around in his palm and muttered a small incantation and the remains of the rag doll were transformed into a large piece of chocolate. Celesta squealed with glee. Her mother never let her have chocolate. Ever.

"Here you go." Romulus said, obviously proud that he had been able to make his sister happy.

Celesta took the chocolate into her hands and was just about to bite into it, when she stopped, turned to Marcellus and said, "Don't tell Mummy."

Both Septimus and Marcellus chuckled a little at this. But Marcellus reassured his troubled daughter. "No, I won't tell your mother."

"Promise?"

Marcellus smiled. "I promise. Romulus, are you ready to go now?"

"Yes. Good bye, Septimus. I'll see you Monday."

Septimus smiled. Then he turned to Marcellus and said, "Make sure to give Marcia my love when you see her."

"I will Septimus, I will. She mentioned that she might drop in on you sometime next week, just to see how you're doing."

"That would be great. I haven't seen her in so long." Marcellus nodded his head. He didn't want to say it, but it felt a long time since he had seen Marcia too, the real Marcia anyway. He could tell something was bothering her now, but he couldn't tell what it was. Whenever he tried to ask her about it, she told him to stay out of her business. It was too peculiar for words. She was his wife, they were supposed to share their problems with one another. At one point, it had seemed like Marcia told him everything. He loved being the one person she could share her insecurities with. Everyone else saw Marcia a tough and stubborn, while only Marcellus saw who she really was. Now, even he wasn't sure what went through her head anymore.

As Septimus closed the door to his rooms, his heart was filled with dread. He knew that, like every other weekend, thoughts of Jenna would consume him. It was inevitable. Septimus sighed and threw himself down onto the couch. Sure enough, it wasn't five minutes before memories of his happier days filled his head and he was lost in his thoughts of the past.

In the Palace, Jenna and Beetle were in Jenna's favorite sitting room. Jenna was taking an advantage of the few hours Delilah was sleeping to talk quietly with her husband. Every year, Jenna loved Beetle more. His dry sense of humor, his kindly expression, the way he looked at her as if she were something truly special. Beetle was a stabilizing presence in her life. Lately, Jenna had been feeling like she needed one. Off and on for the past two weeks, while she was lying in her bed at night, she had been hearing strange sounds from the Palace Gardens. At first, she had tried to ignore them, but finally, they had frightened her to the point of shaking Beetle awake and begging him to send one of the Palace guards to go and see what it was. Beetle insisted that there was no need to send a guard, he wanted to go himself. Jenna tried to stop him, but he went anyway. But when he searched the gardens, he could find no one. Not long after that, Beetle began to hear noises coming from the garden too, but every time he went down to see what it was, there was nobody around. Jenna didn't see how this was possible. She was beginning to think that maybe, just maybe she had a stalker. That thought had always been too terrifying for her to mention, until this particular day, when she could contain her worries no longer. "Beetle." She started, "I think there's someone who comes to the gardens every night and they are trying to stalk me and possibly Delilah as well. I'm just nervous, I can't help it. I thought I was out of danger when the war ended nine years ago."

"Oh don't worry, Jenna, dear. No one's trying to stalk you, not seriously anyway. It's probably some pathetic secret admirer or something. Besides, you'll never have to worry about anything as long as I'm here." To reassure her, Beetle grasped Jenna's hand in his own and kissed it. Jenna beamed at him. He seemed so confident. She wanted to believe him, she truly did, but somehow she still couldn't shake the feeling that things were about to get very difficult again.

Nicko had just finished a hard day's work in the boatyard. He was eager to get home to Snorri and his son, Theo. Nicko loved working with boats, but today, for whatever reasons, he just didn't feel like it. On his way home from work, Nicko noticed something really…peculiar. From a far distance, Nicko saw a boy who looked like the spitting image of Merrin Meredith, who he had to finish off nine years ago when he had caught him doing some very unpleasant things to his sister, Jenna. Nicko shook his head to clear it. He was obviously very tired. Merrin was beyond dead. Nicko had killed him. Nicko was a sensible man and he didn't believe in people returning from the dead and so he decided he was letting his imagination run away with him and he trudged on toward his house. But still, for the rest of the evening, he couldn't shake a feeling of despair that was following him everywhere he went, no matter how much he tried to stop it.

Back at the Pye home, Marcia was in pensive mood. She had for the third time that week, dreamt of Peter O'Malley a man whom she had give very little thought over the last few years. In her youth, Marcia had adored Peter. But in the end, Peter had abandoned her just when she had needed him most. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that she had still thought of Peter on a regular basis until Marcellus had come into her life. Now out of the blue, she was thinking of him again and much, like her ex apprentice, she couldn't control her thoughts. Marcia hated not being in charge of anything, but not being of her own thoughts was one of Marcia's absolute worst nightmares. Now, instead of dreaming of Marcellus, she dreamt of Peter. She hated herself for it when she woke up in the morning and saw her beautiful children. She wondered what they would think if they knew their mother was dreaming of another man. She shuddered at the thought. The thing was, Marcia, didn't want to have thoughts of passion for anyone other than Marcellus. She knew she still loved him, but she believed she had lost that love somehow or another. It was still there because she could feel it when she looked at him. It was if something was messing with Marcia's mind, causing her to dream of Peter at night. Once, during one of her deeper dreams, Marcia had whispered Peter's name into the darkness. Marcia was sure Marcellus had heard her because the next day, he looked utterly crestfallen. Marcia felt guilty, but she was having trouble pushing the dreams from her mind, no matter how hard she tried to. Marcia had spent much time hoping that the dreams would go away, but instead, they only grew stronger. Images of her time with Peter now flashed across her mind during the day as well. Marcia was becoming a bit afraid of her memories. They were distracting her from her daily life. But still, Marcia couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if she ever saw Peter again. Of course, at first, she would ask him why on Earth he left her, but then, she would forgive him. Originally, she had never thought she would be capable of forgiving him for doing something like that to her, but now that feelings for him were beginning to dance around in her mind, she knew that she would have trouble not forgiving him. In her calmer moments, Marcia was glad Peter was no longer a part of her life. Having him in the Castle would only complicate things and her relationship with Marcellus was rocky enough without anymore complications.

Meanwhile, Septimus decided he was tired of sitting around the Wizard Tower, waiting for Romulus to return. He decided to go visit his Aunt Zelda and his twin nephews, Mike and James. Overtime, Septimus had become more fond of Mike and James. They couldn't help who their parents were and Aunt Zelda was raising them to be fine gentleman. They were nearly eleven years old now and Septimus found them very pleasant to be around. Little did Septimus know, he was going to find some pretty gruesome sights at Aunt Zelda's, very gruesome indeed. He wouldn't sleep at all that evening.

At the same time, Marcellus had just awoken from his slumber only to find that Marcia was not beside him. He panicked even though he knew it wasn't logical. She had probably gone to get some water or something like that. Marcellus was correct in this assumption. Marcia returned from the bathroom, just in time to see Marcellus starring out into the darkness at her.

"Marcellus!" she exclaimed, "My God, you nearly scared me to death. Go to sleep. Why are you up anyway?"

"Well, I was just wondering where you were." He said quietly.

Marcia looked exasperated. "Marcellus, it's three o'clock in the morning. I'm not going to leave the house at this hour. What made you think a thing like that?"

Marcellus didn't know what to say. He didn't want to admit that he didn't trust Marcia all of the time anymore. "I don't know." Marcellus tried to make his tone, playful, but it sounded flat to him.

"Marcellus?" Marcia asked, her voice a little concerned and a little suspicious. Marcellus recognized it as the same tone of voice that Marcia used when Romulus or Celesta got into trouble. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"No." Marcellus lied, "there isn't. I'm fine I really am."

"Good. I'm glad to hear it." Marcia replied, even though she didn't believe Marcellus at all. She knew she'd manage to push the truth out of him, it would just take some time.

Not far away, a certain **darke **man was watching the Queen as she slept. He was **unseen** but he saw her squirm in her sleep, almost as if she knew he was there. He smiled to himself. It wouldn't be long before he would have his chance to make this girl and all who loved her suffer and he was very much looking forward to it. "Sleep well, my Queen." He whispered, "Enjoy peace while it lasts." Poor Jenna heard his words in her dreams all night long after he had left her bed chambers. Sadly, this **darke **fiend was quite right when said that peace wouldn't last much longer.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own it.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed and read. It means a lot. Ok, things start moving fast in this chapter. Get ready. I hope you all enjoy this. For the record, I am getting ready to have some of these characters do some really wacky stuff, the kind of thing they most likely wouldn't do in the novels. But I'm only doing it to shake things up a little bit. This is just for fun. They're still in character, I try to be good about that, but they are going to do some really unusual things.

**Beware of those who seem innocent-**Lydia

**I'm hating what she's wearing, cause all the men keep staring, can't wait until they get what they deserve-**Nickelback

**Never trust a man with two first names-**anonymous (The next two chapters explain all of these quotes.)

Chapter Two

When Septimus arrived at Aunt Zelda's he could tell something was wrong. He couldn't put his finger on what was the matter, he just knew that something was up. Against his better judgment, Septimus knocked on Zelda's door anyway. To his immense relief, Zelda answered the door on the first knock. "Hello, Septimus, dear! I wasn't expecting you. Come in we're still eating supper. I'm actually quite glad you stopped by, I could use your help with something." Septimus tried to calm himself, but his pulse was racing. Yet, he still didn't know why. He was sensing an evil presence in his Aunt's home. But what kind of treachery could possibly being going on at Zelda's? Zelda was hardly a dangerous person and Septimus didn't think the twins were either. Septimus shook himself to get rid of his feeling of paranoia. Marcia had always taught him not pay attention to those types of feelings, but Septimus was sure he was imagining things. After all, what sort of **darkeness** could possibly be occurring at Zelda's? But when Septimus entered Zelda's kitchen, he knew.

There, in the middle of the kitchen, sat Morwenna Mould, the witch mother of the Wendron Witches who resided in the Forest. Septimus had always had mixed feelings about these witches. He knew his brothers in the Forest had taken a liking to them, but Marcia had always claimed that they were not to be trusted. Then thirteen years earlier, when Septimus had had to go on a perilous **queste,** Morwenna had tried to kidnap Jenna and make her into a Wendron. That had caused Septimus to lose any of the respect he had still held for the witches. So needless to say, he wasn't particularly friendly with Morwenna when he saw her. "What the hell are you doing here?" he demanded.

Morwenna laughed. Instead of responding to Septimus's question, she turned to Zelda and said, "You were right Zelda, he has got his father's temper."

Septimus was growing impatient. "Aunt Zelda, what's going on? What's Morwenna doing here?"

"Septimus," began Zelda, a little tentatively, "This is why I'm glad you stopped by today. See, Morwenna stopped by to tell me about something that is bothering her very much. She knew I was your Aunt so she actually wanted me to contact you so she could express her concerns."

Septimus was still confused. "What concerns, Aunt Zelda? I didn't even know you knew Morwenna, not personally anyway. What could you two possibly have to talk about?"

"Well, Septimus, dear-" began Aunt Zelda, but she was cut off by Morwenna.

"All we want is for us witches to get the rights we deserve. We want to come and live in the Castle alongside of you and your people. We would be no bother. My ladies and I are tired of living as outcasts in the Forest. Can you even remember the last witch who lived within the Castle walls?" Septimus had to admit that he did not. "Exactly." continued Morwenna, "You see, Septimus, we have every right to live in the city as you Wizards do, and yet somehow, you've ended up in charge of everything. Don't you think you could show my people a little respect? You're a compassionate person." Morwenna was begging now.

Septimus was bewildered. Why did Morwenna want to live in the Castle? The Wendrons had always lived in the Forest and accepted that lifestyle. What would be the point of changing now? Septimus knew Wendrons were big on tradition and he was shocked that Morwenna wanted such a dramatic change.

Morwenna interrupted Septimus's thoughts. "Your Aunt supports my request as well." Septimus looked toward Aunt Zelda, as if trying to find out whether or not Morwenna was telling the truth. Zelda met Septimus's gaze and she was honest with him.

"Septimus, I do think witches should get more rights. I am one after all. Surely, you can understand that."

Septimus nodded, trying to take this all in. Aunt Zelda was supporting Morwenna Mould? The witches wanted to move into the Castle? He turned to Morwenna and asked, "With all due respect, Morwenna, I am very curious to know why you and your coven of witches are suddenly interested in living in my city. The witches have always lived in the Forest."

Morwenna blushed, offended. "First of all, Septimus Heap, the Castle is not _your_ city. Just because you are the ExtraOrdinary Wizard doesn't mean you are in charge of everyone in the city. Secondly, it is not you business why we want to live in the Castle, you are not a witch, you wouldn't understand."

Septimus was starting to get annoyed by Morwenna's attitude."It may not be my city, but I do have a large say in what goes on there and Morwenna, I do not believe you and your coven should even set a foot in the Castle. If you want me to be frank about it, I will. I do not trust you. My mentor did not trust your people, nor did her mentor. Your kind causes problems and doubtlessly, you would continue to cause destruction in the Castle if you were to live there. I'm sorry, I cannot agree to your request."

Morwenna was outraged. Even Zelda was a bit surprised. She had expected Septimus to be a bit more opened minded than that. But then again, Septimus usually had a reason for doing the things he did, and Zelda had no doubt that he had a reason for rejecting Morwenna's request.

Morwenna was heading toward the door, spluttering with rage. "No matter what you will or will not allow, Septimus Heap, my ladies and I will enter your city. We will be given the rights we deserve. And because you so rudely refused to give them to us, your people will suffer. You will learn the true power of the witch coven. Now, I am going to ask you a last time, will you allow us to enter your city?"

Aunt Zelda intervened. "Septimus, say yes. What harm could it do? At least if you let the witches into the Castle, no one will be hurt."

"Aunt Zelda, I don't think saying yes will keep the witches from harming people. I don't trust Morwenna. Marcia wouldn't have given in and I won't either."

"Oh Septimus, why is everything Marcia? You need to stop comparing yourself to her. Make your own choice, don't just make one because it's something she would have done."

Septimus ignored Zelda's advice. He addressed the Wendron Witch Mother again. "Morwenna, my answer is the same as it was before. I will not allow you to enter the Castle."

Morwenna scowled at him and hissed. "You've just condemned your people Septimus. I hope you're pleased without yourself." With that, Morwenna left without saying another word. Septimus knew he had made the right decision by not allowing Morwenna into the Castle, but he was nervous. He hoped she was bluffing about coming to cause his people pain. Surely a group of witches wouldn't chose to take on such a huge group of Wizards. Besides, a few of Septimus's brothers lived in the Forest and Septimus was certain that they wouldn't want the witches to go and attack the Castle. Maybe they could say something. Septimus could tell Zelda was worried, but when the twins came downstairs to talk to her, she forced a smile on her face and Septimus was left to his own thoughts.

If he hadn't been so preoccupied by his thoughts of Morwenna, he would have remembered that this was the first place he and Jenna had ever made love. Luckily for Septimus, he was too stressed think too much about it.

Nicko was fishing in a stream not far from his home with his son, Theo. Theo was becoming quite the little fisherman and fishing was something that Theo and Nicko always did together. It was their time to be together. Snorri called it their "man time," a term which had always made Nicko snicker. But this particular fishing trip was different from the others. Theo decided he wanted to fishing down the stream a little further than usual. Nicko let him do it. Theo was used to the stream and he wasn't likely to get hurt just walking a little ways farther than he usually did. Not five minutes after Theo had walked away, Nicko heard a piercing shriek coming from his young son.

"Theo!" he exclaimed, "Hey, Theo, what is it?" Nicko ran over to his child, praying he wasn't hurt. When he reached the spot where Theo was standing, he noticed that his son was as white as a sheet. "What is it?" asked again. Theo pointed his finger at the stream. He seemed paralyzed with fear.

Nicko couldn't help but wonder what could possibly be so horrible. But when he peered over the edge of the stream, he knew. Lying there, in the shallow water, were the remains of Sam Heap and one of the twins, Edd or Erik, Nicko wasn't sure. Nicko fought the sudden overwhelming urge to vomit. His head was spinning. There were his brothers, dead in a ditch. Who would do a thing like that? Nicko couldn't help but wonder if the **darke **stranger he had sworn he had seen a few days ago might have been involved. At first, Nicko's mind was frozen. He didn't know what to do. Then after a moment, he knew that he would have to return to Snorri and tell her what had happened. Nicko could only imagine what Sarah and Jenna's reactions to this news would be. Especially Sarah. Sarah had finally found happiness with Terry Tarsal, her husband of a year and Nicko knew this news would destroy her new found sense of peace. This wasn't going to be easy. But Nicko knew he had to be strong for Theo. "Come on," he whispered, hoarsely. "Come on, Bud. Let's go get Mum." He took Theo into his muscular arms. He could feel the little boy shaking against him. More than anything, Nicko wished his son had not had to see that. He returned to his home feeling hollow. His brothers were dead. What was going on?

Meanwhile, in one of the finer Castle restaurants, Marcellus and Marcia were having dinner together. They did these at least once a month. They would leave their children with a sitter of some sort and they would go and have a romantic evening. However, this evening was different. The first thing Marcellus noticed was that Marcia's outfit was rather provocative, more so than usual. When Marcellus asked why she was so "dressed up, " Marcia had insisted that she wasn't dressed up at all and asked Marcellus why he was being ridiculous. So all evening, Marcellus had had to watch men stare at his wife and it was driving him insane. Marcia pretended not to notice, but Marcellus knew she had. On their way out of the restaurant, Marcellus saw a large, burly man reach down to slap Marcia's ass. That was the final straw. Marcellus struck the man with a punch, which caught him off guard. Normally, Marcellus would have lost to a man the size of the burly man, but in this case, Marcellus's anger was stronger than the other man was. All of his anxiety which had built up over the last few weeks, left him as he attacked this man. The restaurant manager, who prided himself on running a happy café, was mortified. He came out and asked Marcellus to leave immediately. Once they had gone, Marcia was furious. She spent the rest of the night going on and on about how stupid he had made her look. Marcellus didn't really care. He was proud of what he had done. He doubted that anyone who had witnessed him punching that burly man would ever consider touching Marcia again. The whole Castle would know he meant business from now on.

At the same time, Jenna was horrified. Her daughter, Delilah, was nowhere to be found. Jenna had laid the baby Princess in her nursery where she always placed her and now there was no sign of her. It was like she had vanished. Jenna was heartbroken and angry. She was determined to get her daughter back. She couldn't imagine who had taken her, but she was pretty sure it had something to do with the prowler from the Palace Gardens. Jenna didn't know how, but she was going to rescue her daughter, no matter what it took. She would show them that no one could kidnap her family members and get away with it. Unfortunately, Jenna didn't realize that she was in just as much danger as her daughter and if she didn't watch her back, she might end up with the same fate that had befallen her mother Cerys. Jenna was going to need some real luck to get her out of some of the situations she was getting ready to face. She was at the beginning of a very long journey.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Septimus Heap.

Author's Note: Thanks so much to all who reviewed. I love to hear all of your opinions. This chapter gets into some pretty odd relationship stuff. I have got so many ideas for this story, so I am sorry if things are getting complicated again. I tried to keep things simple during Forgotten, but now, I'm back in GP mode…I have a lot of sub plots. Bear with me. Oh yeah, and Sep is going to have some very interesting romantic experiences in this one. I thought I'd give you guys a heads up. You'll see what I mean in a few chapters. Here's hoping I don't get flamed. Oh yes, and I am going to start a little game with you guys. Well kind of a game anyway. I am going to let you know up fron that only five of my major characters are going to survive this tale. If you can guess who they are, I'll write a oneshot about whatever pairing you want me to. Of course, you won't know whether or not you've won the game until you read the last chapter of this story (which is quite a ways off) but still, you can start guessing if you want. All right, on with next chapter.

Chapter Three

Romulus Pye couldn't fall asleep. He had had the same dream two nights in a row. This time, it had been even more horrible. In his dream, Romulus had walked into his home and found it empty. He had called out to his parents and sister, but there was no answer. When he went upstairs, he was greeted by the sight of his mother and sister's bloody bodies, both were obviously dead. He could hear his father arguing with a man whose voice sounded strangely familiar. The first time Romulus had the dream, he couldn't remember where he had heard the voice, but the second time, he was positive about who the other man was. It was the voice of his tutor, Septimus Heap. Marcia had always told Romulus to pay attention to his dreams, but Romulus didn't see how this one could really mean anything. Septimus would never hurt his family, that was crazy, it made no sense. Romulus was half tempted to tell his mother about this dream, but he knew she would tell him he was being silly. She did that sometimes. But Romulus didn't really feel silly. The dream had felt so real, he had truly felt as though he was staring into the cold, desolate eyes of his sister's corpse and reaching out to touch his mother's cold, lifeless fingers. What bothered Romulus most was that the dream seemed to imply that Septimus had murdered his family. But why Septimus? Romulus had always loved Septimus, he didn't see why he was having nightmares about his tutor, it just didn't make any sense at all. Romulus buried his head in his pillow. He wanted someone to talk to about it, but he knew his parents wouldn't understand this. They both adored Septimus. And of course, Romulus couldn't tell Septimus about it. He was confused and frightened. What did this dream mean?

At the same time, Nicko's son, Theo, was also awake. Images of his uncles bodies were filling his and destroying any small hope he might have had of sleeping. Theo was young, but he wasn't young enough to forget the sights he had seen. He was sure he was going to remember them for the rest of her life. Nicko had left the house that night to go and tell Theo's grandmother and Aunt Jenna what had happened. Theo knew he had his mother there with him, but he was still nervous. He hoped nobody came back to harm him. While Theo was contemplating this, he heard a noise from downstairs. He felt his heart jump in his chest. He could distinctly hear the sounds of a man's boots crossing the wooden floor. Somebody was in the house! They were on the ground floor, where his mother slept! Theo felt like crying. He knew he had to go down there and try to help his mum. Otherwise, this stranger might hurt her. Theo didn't think he would be able to bear that. So quiet as a mouse, the little boy crept down the stairs at a snail's pace, trying his best not to be noticed. To his dismay, he recognized that there were noises coming from his parents' bedroom. The man was already in there with Snorri. Theo peered through a crack in the door. To his amazement, the man didn't seem to be harming his mother at all. In fact, he was kissing her, just like his father always did. Only this man was kissing his mother in places his dad had never kissed her in front of Theo. Neither his mother nor this man were wearing much clothing. Theo had never seen anything like it, but he was pretty sure Nicko wouldn't like the way this man was touching Snorri. Theo walked away from the crack in the door, he didn't want to watch anymore. On his way up to his room, his head was so full of thoughts that he tripped on one of the steps and fell. He didn't really hurt himself, but he did make a very loud noise. Loud enough to where his mother and her companion had probably heard. Theo knew he was in trouble.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Theo heard his mother's voice calling his name. "Theo," she said softly, "Theo, what happened?"

"Mum," he began, "Mum, I-" Then he gathered his courage and asked, "Mum, who was that man?"

Snorri's already pale features became even more so. "What man?"

"The man who was kissing you." This time Snorri blushed. She knew she couldn't lie to her son anymore. Theo was a smart boy and he had already seen too much.

"Theo, honey, he's a good friend of mine. But you have to promise me something. You can't tell Daddy about him. If you do, you'll be in more trouble than you can possibly imagine. But, you're a good boy, I don't think you're going to tell anyone. You don't really want to get in trouble, do you?"

Theo was silent. "Do you?" Snorri asked again, becoming annoyed.

"No Mum." He replied.

"So will you promise?"

"I promise." Theo relented. If this man was just his mum's friend, he couldn't be that bad could her. Still, Theo had never seen friends who acted like that. There something really odd about the whole.

Snorri smiled. "There's a good boy. Now, it's way past your bedtime. Off you go." Theo went to bed, but much like Romulus, he didn't sleep at all.

Jenna , Septimus, and Nicko weren't doing much sleeping either. They were at Sarah and Terry's home in the Ramblings and they had just received the horrible news of Sam and Erik's deaths. Nicko had gone back to examine the bodies and he discovered that the twin's corpse was Erik because Erik had a small mole on his chin and Edd didn't. When Nicko had first seen the bodies, he had been too panicked to look for the mole. Jenna was already horribly affected by the disappearance of her daughter and now this news wan unbearable. Jenna burst into heavy sobs. Beetle, threw his arms around his wife and she continued to sob uncontrollably. Septimus too, found himself wishing he could run to Jenna and take her into his arms, but he knew that was not a possibility. Septimus was troubled by Delilah's disappearance as well. At Jenna's request, he had done a **find **spell to search for her, but to his immense disappointment and confusion, there was no sign of Delilah anywhere. Jenna was in a despair. She was convinced that the failed **find **meant that her daughter was dead. She couldn't believe her brothers were dead as well. While they were sitting in Terry's living room, Jenna asked, "Septimus, have you got any idea who is doing this? I can't have people terrorizing my people or the Castle any longer, I just can't. Sep, you need to help me! You're ExtraOrdinary Wizard, can't you figure out what's going on?"

Septimus sighed heavily. He could feel Jenna's pain in her voice. "No," he said, quietly. "No, Jen, I can't. I only wish I knew what is happening. I know you're hurting, and I only want to help you. We'll find Delilah, I promise."

Jenna was surprised. Septimus never gave his word unless he really meant it. "I believe you, Sep." she said quietly, "I believe you."

Septimus couldn't contain himself. He reached forward, grasped Jenna's hand, and kissed it. Jenna shot him a look, but everyone else was preoccupied with their own thoughts and hadn't noticed.

Sarah was heartbroken. First, beloved granddaughter had vanished and now her sons were dead. Sarah only had four of her children left alive and she didn't even know where Edd was. She could only hope he was still alive. She was becoming frantic. She should have known her brief happiness was too good to last.

Eventually, the tragic news reached the Pye family. They were bringing Romulus back to the Tower for his week of studies anyway and they decided to stay and comfort the Heaps for a while. When Marcia arrived in Septimus's rooms, she took one look at his tired, ashen face and enveloped him in an embrace. The was a bit comforting to Septimus. No one knew how to make him calm as well as Marcia did. Marcia and Septimus looked a bit funny together now. Thanks to the tincture Marcia had drunk from nine years earlier, she appeared to be about twenty-eight. Septimus himself was twenty-six. If someone had not known them, they would assume that this pair was the same age. Sometimes, that was very odd to Septimus. He knew a day would come when he looked older than Marcia. _That _was going to be an odd thing indeed.

As Marcia entered Septimus's rooms, all sorts of memories of her time as ExtraOrdinary Wizard filled her head. If she were honest with herself, she would have to admit that she still missed that life occasionally. But she didn't regret her decision to marry Marcellus, she loved him. Even when she was thinking of Peter, she knew she loved Marcellus more. But in order to give all of her affection to her husband, she knew that she first had to clear her head of all thoughts of lust for other men. That was it really, she was lusting after Peter. After all these years, she still couldn't forget him. In many ways, she wanted to, she really did. Sometimes, Marcia wondered if something was **causing **her to think of Peter. She hated to think that she was being stalked, so she didn't mention this thought to anyone, even Marcellus. That was a terrifying thought.

"Septimus," Marcia said, "I'm so sorry."

"Me too." Septimus replied, "My brothers don't deserve this. They just don't. I want to find who did this."

"And we will. Didn't we save the Castle nine years ago? It will be easy for us to stop whoever is doing this." Marcia seemed so confident. Septimus wanted to believe her, but he was still unsettled.

"Marcia, do you mind staying in the Tower for a while? It will only be a little while, you know, until we can find out what's going on around here. Please, Marcia, I need you."

With those words, "I need you," Marcia was won over. If Septimus needed her for anything, she wanted to be there, supporting him every step of the way. Even though she no longer saw him as often, her love for him was still as strong as it had ever been. Besides, she wasn't about to leave him alone like she had at the beginning of the war with Cliff, Simon, and Merrin. "Of course, I will stay here, Septimus."

"How long?" he asked.

"As long as you want me here." She responded, a small reassuring smile crossing her face. Septimus returned it. He was relieved. At least he wouldn't be alone.

So it was arranged for Marcia and her family to stay on the twentieth floor of the Wizard Tower while Septimus remained on the twenty-first. Septimus no longer had to endure lonely weekends, which was incredibly nice. He could always knew Marcia was just a floor down from him, trying in vain to get the kitchen items to work properly, just as she had during her seventeen years as ExtraOrdinary Wizard.

Niko was taking a walk in the Forest, trying to clear his head. He still couldn't believe what had become of his brothers. It was horrific. As he walked deeper into the Forest, he noticed smoke coming from a clearing in the Forest. Against his better judgment, he decided to follow the smoke. When he got closer, he could hear an angry woman shouting. "My ladies!" the woman screamed, "The time is now! If we wait, the wizards will become suspicious. We have to move now. Can't you see this is the only way?"

The voice of a younger woman answered the booming voice. "With all due respect, Witch Mother, I don't agree with you. I don't see why we can't let the wizards go their own way. We don't need to bother them, our lives here in the Forest are successful and good. I see no reason to change now. What you did to those Wizard boys who lived here was disgraceful. They would never harm us. The Heaps are good people."

"Marissa, hold your tongue! You used to have some decent common sense before that Heap boy came into your life. Now you no longer know right from wrong. Ladies, ignore Marissa, obviously there is something very wrong with her. I did nothing disgraceful to those boys. I gave them the chance to live. Marissa, you know very well that I gave them the chance to join us. Only one of them was smart enough to accept my offer. I am not a sadistic person. I don't kill unless I must."

Marissa snorted, but the Witch Mother didn't see. She turned to the crowd of witches who were standing around her and said, "Tomorrow, my friends, we'll attack at sundown." Then, turning to one of the witches, she said, "Angela, you will go and get me the baby Princess. Bring her to me, I want her alive." Apparently, thought Nicko, this woman didn't know that Delilah was already missing. Nicko's heart was beating one hundred miles an hour. He had listened to all he could take. He knew he had to get back to the Castle and fast. He was going to warn Septimus immediately. Things weren't looking good at all.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Septimus Heap is not mine

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. I thought that I'd let you guys know that as far as characters that when I mentioned that only five characters will live, I was referring to cannon characters. I should have been more specific, I apologize. I also want you to know that I am not a sadistic person. I don't kill people because I really want to, I do it because it moves the story along. But I have to say that I am not going to be quite as merciful as I was in GP. I actually spared three characters that weren't supposed to make it out. I may not do that this time. So I want you guys to know that I am not evil, even if I do finish off someone's favorite character. I promise, it doesn't mean I don't like that person. Feel free to flame me, I might deserve it. On with Chapter Four. In this chapter we meet some old "friends," I hope you like it.

Chapter Four

A few miles outside the Castle, an lone figure was standing outside, staring in the direction of the city. She was a small, frail looking woman, years of living outdoors on her wits had aged her, but not so much that she was ugly. In fact, she might have even been pretty in her youth, but the years had wasted her. She was about sixty, but she looked sixty-five. A somewhat attractive sixty-five. She wasn't healthy. Her back teeth were rotting and her body was impossibly thin. She wore an expression in her conveyed both nothing and everything. It was a cold expression which on first glance, seemed empty and lifeless, but on second glance, it appeared to be full of hatred. But hatred for what? For whom? If you had passed her, you wouldn't have known, but her face would have scared you all the same. But this woman was actually happy for the first time in ages. She at last had a way of potentially taking revenge on those who had tormented her so long ago. She had managed to kidnap the baby Princess. It had been easier than she ever would have imagined it to be. Breaking into the nursery had been a piece of cake. The woman realized that, by holding the baby Princess hostage, she was holding power over the Queen. She had a feeling this Queen would be exactly like her mother. She would most likely be willing to die for the sake of her child. But this woman didn't enjoy the presence of the baby Princess at all. She was constantly crying and complaining and the woman steeled herself to put up with it. She didn't have a choice and besides, it would all be over soon anyway. She would finally be able to murder that disgusting Queen and those interfering Wizards, Septimus Heap and Marcia Overstrand. She especially wanted to kill Marcia. The woman always kept her promises and she had promised Marcia years ago that she would one day be the one to end her life. She intended to stay true to her words. She had had a lot of fun **causing **Marcia to think of her dead lover, Peter O'Malley. In all honesty, she resented how wonderful Marcia's marriage to Marcellus had been. It was fun to see it going bad. She couldn't wait to finish them all. It wouldn't be long now.

Jenna was staring out of her bedroom window when she saw them approaching. "Beetle!" she cried, "Oh Beetle, come quickly, it's the witches! What do they want here? Why are they in my city?"

As Beetle approached he realized Jenna was right. "It is the Wendrons. They're coming here."

Suddenly, Jenna's mind came to an inescapable conclusion. "They've got Delilah! I bet that's it. Morwenna is probably holding her for ransom."

"Well, Jenna, if that's the case, at least we know she's alive." Beetle said, trying to see the positive side of things.

"I suppose. But Beetle, they're not just going to give her back. They want something from me. I don't know what, but they have her for a reason."

Beetle was quiet. What could he say to that? His wife was probably right. He noticed that Jenna's hands were trembling. He immediately grasped her hand in his. He hated to see her afraid. "There, there, love, we've been through worse, you know we have."

Jenna looked stricken. "What Beetle? What's been worse than losing Delilah? I can't live without her."

Beetle took Jenna into his arms, and she began to sob, "I just can't do this! I can't do it. I need her, Beetle. I don't know what I'll do without her."

"We're going to get her back, Jenna. Don't worry about what you'll do without her. I'm going to make sure we'll never be without her again."

Beetle's determined voice reminded Jenna very much of Septimus for a moment and it made her love him even more. In spite of the circumstances, she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips. "You're a brave man, Beetle. You're braver than me."

"No, I'm not. You're just nervous. That's how mothers are when this kind of thing happens. It's normal."

Jenna smiled at him gratefully. For the past few weeks, everyone had been treating her like she was crazy and she was glad to hear someone call her sane, even if it was only her husband. Suddenly, Jenna noticed the mob of witches gathering around the Palace Gates. "Come on, Beetle, let's go and see what they want."

Across the city, Nicko was rushing into the Castle. He hadn't made it back into the Castle in time apparently. The witches had been faster than he had expected them to be. The only thing he could figure is that they had **transported** themselves here. In any case, they were marching toward the Palace. Doubtlessly, they were going after Jenna. Nicko knew what he had to do. His sister was in danger. He was going to help her.

In the Wizard Tower, Septimus and Marcia had just noticed the witches through the library window. Romulus was there was well, looking through some old **magyk** books his mother had been showing him. "Who are they?" asked Romulus. He had never seen a Wendron Witch before. Marcia had made it her duty to keep Romulus away from "those interfering dangerous, unintelligent" women.

"They're witches, Romulus." Marcia replied, "And do you remember what I told you about witches?"

Romulus chanted in a robotic voice. "They aren't to be trusted."

"That's right. In fact, Septimus, I think it would be wise if we went down there, just to see what is going on. They have no right to be in the Castle, no right at all. Who do they think they are? Well I'm going to give them a piece of my mind. Romulus, stay here with your father. I'll be back soon."

"No Mum, I want to come too." Romulus protested.

"Don't be ridiculous, Romulus! This is serious business. I can't have you out there. Septimus, tell him he's being silly."

"She's right, I'm afraid. You could be hurt. Wendron Witches have a tendency to make things..difficult. But it's nothing your mother and I can't handle, I assure you."

Romulus listened to Septimus and didn't protest again, much to Marcia's annoyance. Why would her son listen to Septimus and not to her? It really bothered her sometimes. "Oh all right, Septimus, I'll stay here."

" Good. See you in a moment." Septimus said, "Now, come on Marcia, we haven't got any time."

Marcia began to follow Septimus out the door, when she remembered something important. "Romulus, promise me something."

"Okay." Romulus replied, a little unsure.

"Promise me that, if your father finds out where I have gone, you won't let him follow me, no matter what you have to do."

Romulus paused for a second. Why didn't Marcia want Marcellus to know where she had gone? Why did it matter? But Romulus knew better than to argue with his mother, that never accomplished anything. "All right, Mum, I promise."

"Thank you, dear. Oh yes and make sure to-"

Septimus interrupted Marcia in midsentence. "Let's go, Marcia. Jen's in danger."

Marcia looked into Septimus's eyes and was shocked. They were filled with passiona s she had never seen them before. She knew in that instant just why that was. He still loved Jenna. Even though all this time had passed, he still loved her. That was a lot for Marcia to think about. She had rather hoped that Septimus had moved on with his life, but apparently he was just as sad about her marriage to Beetle as he had been nine years earlier. Marcia resolved to try and make him happier when all this was over.

As she and Septimus made their way to the Palace, citizens of the Castle started shouting things at them. Mostly, they were begging them to stop the witches, whatever it took. No one in the Castle liked the witches, not one bit. Marcia and Septimus travelled in silence for a few moments, but at last, Marcia broke it by saying, "I really hope Marcellus doesn't follow me. That's just the kind of thing he'd do. If he does, he's going to get himself killed. He's got this idea that, if he's not around me at all times, something horrible is going to happen to me. It's a preposterous idea, absolute rubbish, but Marcellus truly believes it. I just worry about him, he's so brave, but he can be so stupid. It's like he's blind to the danger that surrounds certain situations."

Septimus intervened. "No, Marcia, he's blinded by you, by his feelings for you. He loves you enough to die for you. I know you don't realize it because you're a woman, but we men get rather funny about the women we love. We can't even explain why we're doing things sometimes. Marcia, I want you to know that I am no different than Marcellus. I would die for you as well."

Marcia seemed to be contemplating something. "So tonight, you're pulling a Marcellus?"

"What do you mean, Marcia?"

"You're going after the witches even though you know we're horribly outnumbered because you want to save Jenna. That's why you've been so serious. Marcellus gets like that when he thinks someone is trying to hurt me. It's a bit amusing reall-" Marcia got interrupted for the third time that night, but this time, it wasn't by Septimus.

"Hey, if it isn't my lovely bedmate! Or rather floor mate, I suppose. What is it? You're surprised to see me? I bet you're excited. Don't be afraid, I'm not going to kill you, you're too good a playmate for that." Then, the voice changed tones, "Oh and if it isn't Septimus Heap. ExtraOrdinary Wizard, eh? Not for long I assure you. You'll be dead soon, bastard. I can't sleep with you, there's no reason for you to live."

"Merrin!" screeched Marcia, "You son of a bitch! But how?"

Merrin made himself visible. In one smooth motion, he lifted his hand up to reveal DomDaniel's two faced ring. "Tada. Beat that." He shouted childishly. "No matter what magyk you throw at me, you can't kill me. I want to see you try, come on, which one of you wants to challenge me?"

Septimus was getting impatient. "We've got to help Jenna, Marcia. We'll finish him later. Just hex him or something."

"Septimus, I can't. He's got that ring. I've got to get that from him."

"Well, then, you stay here and do that and I'm going after Jen. I'm not wasting any more time."

As Septimus stormed off, Marcia called, "So that's it then? You're just going to leave me with him? You trust him with me, huh? After what happened last time, I should have thought you had learned something, Septimus."

Septimus didn't answer. He kept walking ahead. Marcia could defend herself, he knew that. Jenna was in trouble.

"Septimus," he heard her voice from down the alley, "I'm disappointed in you." Even in these, dire circumstances, Septimus felt his heart sink. He had never heard Marcia say those words, not once in all the time he had known her. He wasn't about to turn around and help her, he didn't have time. But he did look over his shoulder and call, "I'm sorry." But he didn't stop, he heard Marcia curse, but he kept going. The only thing on his mind was Jenna.

By the time Septimus reached the Palace, he was too late. The witches had already gone through the whole property and stolen everything they wanted. They had also finished off a few Palace guards. Septimus searched the rooms frantically for Jenna, but alas, he could find no sign of her. He was panicking. Surely, she wasn't already dead. Finally, he heard the sound of familiar weeping coming from one of the bedrooms. It was Jenna's weeping! Septimus would have known it anywhere. Quickly, he rushed into the room, where he found his brother Nicko clutching Jenna's hand, trying to comfort her. Septimus immediately, recognized why. For there, in Jenna's arms, lay the remains of her husband, Beetle, after he had been obviously torn apart by one of the witches' knives. Upon seeing Septimus enter the room, Jenna shrieked, "Sep! Sep! Oh Septimus!" Then, overwhelmed with shock and pain, Jenna fainted.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters.

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to all who reviewed, I love you guys. Hey, my friend brought something important to my attention yesterday when she read this story and called me a "merry murderess." I got to thinking and I realized that I need to take a little more time to concentrate on relationships in my story. So that's what I'm going to do. Don't worry, those of you who like action please know that there is still going to be a ton of it. However, I'm going to throw some drama in here to, just to please those of you whom my "killing spree" may be offending. I don't blame you guys. I am being a tad bit harsh having everything happen so quickly. I'll try and be more careful. Oh yeah, and some of your lists for my "game" are very, very, very close. In fact almost scary close. This is cool, I love writing for you guys. You really think about stuff before you say it.

Chapter Five

Marcia was correct in her assumption that Marcellus would come to her aid. Apparently, Romulus had been unable to keep her secret. Marcia was struggling to get the two faced ring away from Merrin when Marcellus arrived. Marcia knew that, as long as Merrin had the ring, she wouldn't be able to finish him. As usual, she was infuriated with Marcellus. Why did he insist on putting himself in danger all of the time? She was tired of having to worry about him. This time, though, Marcellus was more useful than he had been the past few times he had come to assist her. Marcia tried to tell him to go back, but Marcellus completely ignored her. Instead, he walked straight over to Merrin. At the sight of Marcellus, Merrin laughed. Marcellus hardly looked like someone who would be able to beat Merrin in a fight. But before, Merrin had even finished cackling, Marcellus had knocked him to his knees. Merrin had been a piece of cake for Marcellus to defeat. If he could beat that disgusting lard bag back in the restaurant, he could beat Merrin.

Merrin was shocked. With as much dignity as he could managed, he approached Marcellus and punched him hard in the nose. Marcellus had had enough. Once again, he pushed Merrin to the ground and continued to punch. Marcia, in spite of herself, was a bit amused.

Merrin was miserable. This reminded him of the time Nicko Heap had beaten him up all those years ago. If it hadn't been for his two faced ring, he would have died then. He knew that the Heaps had expected that he had died. He could tell by the way that interfering Septimus boy had looked at him. Eventually, Merrin was tired of taking Marcellus's punches. He muttered a **darke **incantation that he had worked hard to prefect. In a second, Merrin had vanished, right before Marcellus's eyes.

"Blast it!" cried Marcellus, "I could have killed that little twirp! I was so close. Are you all right, Marcia?"

Marcia tried to lose all traces of the amused expression she had worn while watching her husband beat up Merrin and resume her usual stern one. It didn't exactly work. "I'm perfectly fine, thank you, Marcellus. I could have handled myself. You could have gotten yourself killed. There is no way you can kill Merrin, he has the two faced ring. You know, the one DomDaniel used to wear? That's why he didn't die nine years ago when Nicko beat him up. Can't you see why I didn't want you here? It's too dangerous."

Marcellus's heart jumped. Even though she was trying to hide it, Marcellus could tell Marcia was worried about him. He couldn't even begin to say what a wonderful feeling that was. Maybe their relationship was finally looking up. "Marcia, I don't care if it's dangerous. That boy..he's the one that…" Marcellus shuddered, "I just don't want that to happen again. If he ever touches you again, I'll find a way to kill him, two faced ring or not."

Marcia smiled, but only a little. Suddenly, an important thought occurred to Marcellus. "Where's Septimus?"

Marcia's expression clouded over. "Septimus decided to go and see if Jenna was all right at the Palace. I suppose Romulus told you the witches were there tonight?"

"Yes, he did. But why would Septimus leave you here with Merrin? I understand that Jenna is important, but she has Beetle and all of those Palace guards to protect her. You didn't have anyone."

"Marcellus, for the last time, I can take care of myself." Marcia was secretly glad Marcellus had agreed with her opinion about Septimus's leaving her. Marcellus always understood things.

"But you don't have to, you've got me, Marcia. You don't have to be alone anymore."

Marcia didn't know what to say to that. "I guess we should go to the Palace and see how Septimus is holding up." Marcia said, breaking the silence. Marcellus nodded and together, the Pye couple made their way across the Castle.

Meanwhile, Septimus and the Palace guards had managed to beat the witches back, but not before Morwenna had promised to return soon. Septimus had a feeling that their victory would only be temporary.

Jenna was still in a complete despair. She couldn't even function. She was practically delirious and it was scarring Septimus. Every few seconds, she shouted Beetle's name and tears were rolling down her cheeks in a constant stream. Finally, Septimus had taken her into his arms. Jenna let him do it. While he was holding Jenna, Septimus had a guilty thought. Maybe now that Beetle was gone, he and Jenna might have a chance together. He knew this was an atrocious thing to think about. Beetle had been one of his closest childhood friends. But Septimus couldn't help himself. Any chance he had of getting Jenna was worth thinking about.

When Marcia and Marcellus arrived at the Palace, Nicko told them the news. Marcia immediately went in to see Jenna and Marcellus pulled Septimus aside to talk with him. Eventually, Snorri reached the Palace. When Nicko saw her, he rushed to her and clasped her in his arms. He was thrilled that she was okay.

After Merrin had been defeated by Marcellus, he had sulked back to the place he had been staying for the past few weeks, trying to plan his next move. Merrin had passed the last month or so living in an old abandoned house with Clarissa Demarte, who had managed to kidnap the baby Princess, Delilah, a while back. Clarissa was Cliff mother, Merrin's old partner in crime, and Merrin actually found Clarissa more intelligent than he had found Cliff. Besides, Merrin had not had a lover in many years and at last, Clarissa was providing him with some much needed pleasure. Sure there was an age gap, but when had that ever stopped Merrin? Eventually though, Merrin knew he wanted a lover with a younger body. He knew Clarissa had the ability to make women think about men they didn't even want to think about. But he also knew that Clarissa could only keep one of these types of spells going on at once. He was aware that she was currently **causing **Marcia Pye to think about Peter O'Malley, one of her ex lovers, simply to make her miserable. Merrin desperately wanted Clarissa to remove this curse and place a curse on the woman he desired most to make her fall in love with him. He had a feeling that Clarissa wouldn't be offended by this request. She knew that Merrin only saw her as someone to sleep with and he had a feeling she saw him the same way. If Merrin didn't know better, he would have said Clarissa was still in love with Merrin's old tutor, DomDaniel. Merrin wasn't in love with the woman he desired, but he was obsessed with her body. He decided that, the moment he got home, he was going to ask Clarissa to make her think of him. It was worth a shot and Merrin was a bit tired of making love to a woman old enough to be his mother.

Back at the Wizard Tower, Romulus was pensive. He was worried about his parents and his tutor. He couldn't help but wonder why Marcia had been so opposed to his father knowing she was gone. He hoped that he hadn't put Marcellus in danger by sending him after Marcia.

Luckily for Romulus, all three of his loved ones returned safe and sound. He heard about the death of the Queen's consort, and he was sad for Jenna, who had always seemed very nice. However, he hadn't known Beetle very well and therefore, it was hard for Romulus to grieve for him.

In spite of the difficult circumstances, Marcia was actually feeling better than she had felt in a very long time. It was as though a certain **darkeness** had been lifted from her. It didn't take her long to recognize why she felt so free. Whatever, whoever had been **causing **her to lust after men other than Marcellus had finally stopped interfering with her life. But although Marcia was relieved, she wasn't entirely happy. She knew that whoever had been bothering her was most likely still out there, and right now, they were probably making someone else miserable.

Marcia realized she was going to have to give Marcellus some kind of explanation for her strange behavior. Knowing him as she did, she was sure that the past month or so had really distressed him. She at least owed him an apology.

She found Marcellus sitting in the bedroom the couple was staying in at the Wizard Tower. He was gazing out of the window, obviously in deep thought. Marcia smirked. She had often teased Marcellus about his tendency to daydream. Marcia didn't have much time for daydreaming herself. She thought it was rather silly. When she entered the room, Marcellus looked up, his face brightening a little.

"Hello Marcia, what are you doing here?"

Marcia got straight to the point. "Marcellus..I've got to talk you about something. Do you have a moment?"

"Always."

Marcia's throat felt a little dry. She hoped Marcellus would believe her. "Well, first I've got to acknowledge that my behavior has been a little..I've been..I've been horrible to you. But I want to tell you why." Marcia paused, Marcellus seemed to be listening attentively. "I was **inhabited** by some kind of a **darkeness. **It was making me think about some things that I used to think about years ago, things that don't really matter in my life anymore. I think whoever it was doing this was trying to break us apart. I don't know why they decided to leave me alone, but I want to find out. I wouldn't be surprised of that little Merrin wretch is behind all of this." At the mention of Merrin's name, Marcellus flinched. Marcia went on. "But I didn't come in here to complain about Merrin. I want to..apologize to you, Marcellus, you deserve at least that much from me. I must have been very difficult."

Marcellus could tell that Marcia was telling him the truth. She never referred to herself as "difficult" unless she had to. Besides, she wouldn't lie about **darkeness**, it was too serious.

"Marcia," he began, "Please, please don't blame yourself. I understand, I really do." Marcia looked distraught and Marcellus wanted nothing more than to comfort her. "Look, I'll admit it, you scared me for a moment there, but I believe you." He reached forward and took Marcia's hand in his. "We're just going to move forward from here, I don't want you to regret anything. You haven't hurt me. **Darkeness** is a terrible thing, you must be exhausted from it."

Marcia had to admit, she was tired. However, she still had one more thing to give Marcellus. For the first time in nearly a month, Marcia leaned over and kissed Marcellus full on the lips. Marcellus blushed, just as he always did when she kissed him off guard. "What did I do to deserve that?" he asked.

"Just for being there. For not losing your head when I was being ridiculous. But Marcellus, you have to promise me not to ever try and save me again. Is that clear?"

"I cannot promise that, Marcia and you know it."

Marcia didn't know why she had even bothered to mention that. That was the one argument Marcellus would always win. Marcia climbed onto the couple's bed and Marcellus followed her, taking her into his arms. Marcia snapped her fingers at the heavy door and it locked. At last, the Marcia and Marcellus Pye belonged entirely to one another again. (AN- Come on, guys, I'm not gonna give you the creepy details. Use your imaginations.)

Queen Jenna was alone in one of the smallest rooms in the Palace. She didn't want to be in a big empty space without Beetle and Delilah. She could hardly begin to imagine what her life was going to be like without them. She had hardly begun to grieve and she had a feeling this grieving process would be a long one. She had lost the two people whom she adored most in the world. There was an empty whole in Jenna that she didn't think she would ever be able to fill. Just as Jenna was about to fall asleep on her couch from exhaustion, she heard a voice calling her name. Jenna jumped, startled. Against her better judgment, she called, "Who's there?"

"A friend." The voice answered, "You look like you need one. Walk through your mirror if you wish to find me."

Jenna hesitated. Walk through the mirror? But that wasn't possible was it? Then a thought occurred to her. Maybe it would be like the glass Septimus had gone through when he had been transported back in time, when they were mere children. Jenna didn't want that to happen to her, but still, she felt drawn to the mirror. She began to approach it uncertainly. When she touched it, her hand slipped through it. Then, to her horror, she felt someone grab her hand and pull her through the glass. Jenna screamed, but the hand wouldn't let go. After a moment, Jenna disappeared completely into the glass. Her life was going to change forever.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Septimus Heap.

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to all who reviewed. I am always glad to hear your opinions. Okay, the action picks up again in this chapter a little. I apologize to all those who don't like it. I don't really have a lot to say now. This chapter is for Karen, who makes the best suggestions in the world. You're practically my sister, girl, I love you.

Chapter Six

The news of the Queen's sudden disappearance spread through the Castle quickly. The town gossips were telling the story to everyone they knew. It was the juiciest gossip any of them had heard in many, many years. Not only had the Queen vanished, but her daughter had too and now apparently, her husband was dead. The townspeople were a bit nervous as well. They had no idea who to place on the throne in Jenna's place. The last time an event even remotely like this had occurred was when Queen Cerys, Jenna's mother, had been killed and no one knew where the baby Princess was. But now, the situation was even more dire than it had been then. The witches had promised to return and when better to return than during the absence of the Queen? The thought of the witches returning to the city was enough to make many of the citizens of the Castle shiver in their shoes.

Far away, The Queen of the Castle was standing in a large airy room next to the glass she had recently come through. She turned, eager to see the person who had dared to kidnap her. When she faced him, her expression changed quickly from one of anger to one of shock, and finally, to one of horror. "Merrin Meredith!" she spat, "How in the world? Nicko killed you, I watched him do it." Jenna was beginning to think that maybe her grief was causing her to go crazy. "Go away!" she shouted angrily, "You're dead, you're supposed to be dead."

"But I'm not, my dear Queen. Remember though, I promised you through the glass that I would be your friend. I intend to keep my promise. I only want to help you recover from you…terrible loses."

Jenna laughed, mockingly, "Do you expect me to believe you? After all you've done to me and to my family you honestly expect me to believe you? Well, let me tell you something, I will never listen to anything you say to me. You say you want to be my friend. Ha! What a great story that is! I'm not stupid, Merrin, I'm not one of the little whores you doubtlessly keep around to amuse yourself. I have no intention of giving you access to any part of me. You've got one of the sickest minds I've ever encountered. If you touch me, I'll kill you with my own two hands."

Merrin smiled, a little amused by Jenna's reaction to all of this. "I'd like to see you try. But luckily for you, I have no intention of touching you. I've learned my lesson, _your Majesty_." Jenna winced at the tone of his voice when he spoke these words. He was certainly making fun of her. "I only touch women whom I perceive as sleazy. You are not. In fact, you're a woman of real quality, I haven't got a clue why I never noticed it before now. I dare to say that time has only made you more beautiful, that's rare in women, you know. Age usually destroys beauty." As he spoke these words, Merrin reached up to stroke Jenna's cheek. Jenna jerked away from him. Merrin pulled his hand back. "Oh yes," he continued, "I promised I wouldn't touch you and I won't. Relax, let me show you to your room."

Jenna gasped. "My room? Let me explain something to you right now, Merrin Meredith. I have no intention of staying here, not even for a night. I've got to get home to the Castle. I will find a way to do that. You cannot stop me." With that, she stubbornly headed for the glass. Merrin just watched her.

Jenna pushed against the glass with all of her strength but to her dismay, it would budge. She felt her heart sink in her chest. There was no way out.

Jenna had intended to keep fighting Merrin until he gave let her have her way, but now, Jenna was too exhausted. Grief and sorrow began to flood over her again and she sank to her knees, scarcely caring that Merrin was there. Jenna buried her face in her hands and burst into hysterical sobbing.

Merrin took in the sound of Jenna weeping and tried to remain indifferent. But after a few moments, it was hard. Merrin was cross with himself. Why should he feel sorry for Jenna? She was just another woman. Merrin had seen plenty of them in his lifetime. Yet, Jenna stirred something deep within him, something he couldn't remember ever feeling before. It unnerved him. During the nine years since he and Cliff lost the war with the Castle, he had been unable to completely push Jenna from his mind. Sure, he had had relationships with other women, but he had never forgotten Jenna. She was like a bad disease, the kind of virus no doctor can cure, no matter how hard he or she tries.

Merrin approached Jenna slowly, taking in every detail of her form. "Listen, my Queen, for the last time, I am not going to hurt you. But you may not return to the Castle. Soon, things will not be good there, You'll be better off with me."

Jenna looked up, her eyes blotchy from her tears. "How would you know anything about the future of the Castle? Just because you've got that despicable two faced ring doesn't mean you are any more talented than you have ever been. And if the Castle really were in trouble, which it might be, the place for me to be would be within its walls with my people. I am their Queen, I must defend them."

Merrin's voice softened. "It's okay." He whispered. Jenna didn't answer, things were not "okay." In that moment, Jenna had just realized where she was. She was in the Observatory, the place Simon Heap had taken her in the badlands when she had been a mere child. She didn't have fond memories of that trip at all.

Merrin had chosen to take Jenna to the Observatory for a reason. He had left Clarissa and Delilah behind in the old abandoned house they had been sharing together. He knew that, if Clarissa had the baby Princess and he had the Queen. They would have a chance to completely overthrow the Castle. And in the meantime, if Clarissa's spell worked properly, he would earn Jenna's affection.

At last, Jenna began to recognize that she wasn't going to get out of the Observatory that night. She would have to figure out an escape plan in the morning. Reluctantly, she let Merrin show her where she was to sleep, which unfortunately, was the exact room Simon Heap had given her all those years ago. But after a moment, Jenna realized that this was not so bad. At least Merrin wasn't trying to move onto her. She was a little surprised that he wasn't.

Just as Jenna was sitting down on her bed, Merrin walked back into her room. She felt very afraid. Merrin was a rapist, she knew this. Why had she been stupid enough to get into a bedroom with him? But Merrin surprised her again.

"Don't look so upset. I just want to show you something. Come, follow me, it will only take a second." Jenna followed, him, fearing what he would do to her if she didn't. When they reached the room at the end of the long hall, Merrin stepped inside and allowed Jenna to go in first. At first, the room seemed quiet and peaceful. It took Jenna a moment to realize what was inside the room. Once she did, she cried, "Oh, oh my God! My God!" then she looked away from the frightening scene before her, and vomited.

Back in the Castle, Septimus was pacing through his room in the Wizard Tower like a lion in a cage. Marcia was sitting on his sofa, trying to talk some sense into him. But Septimus wouldn't be consoled.

"Someone's taken her!" he was shouting, "I don't know who, but someone has kidnapped Jenna, Marcia. She's in danger. I've got to leave here and go and search for her. What if something happens to her? If it does, I'll never forgive myself. I want to kill whatever bastard has taken her. I'll bet it's that Merrin! Marcia, I've been trying to do a **find** spell all afternoon, but neither Jenna nor Merrin is showing up. I know he's done something to trick me, but I can't imagine what. "

Marcia regarded Septimus with a disapproving look. "Septimus, you are most certainly _not _leaving the Castle to search for Jenna. The last time Jenna and I were out of the Castle at the same time, DomDaniel just walked in here. I can't afford for that to happen again. Only this time, I think those repulsive witches will come and take over. Septimus, you can't leave. The whole Castle will a stake if you abandon us now. Can't you see Septimus? You'll endanger all of us."

Septimus sighed, exasperated. "Marcia, Jenna's life means more to me than all of the Castle. Who really lives here anyway? A bunch of old gossips and sleazy men, that's who! I'm getting rather tired of this place, no one here really matters. I'd rather see them all die than see Jenna die."

Marcia was horrified. "Septimus! You're the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. It's your job to support the Castle, whatever it takes. You know very well that most of the people who live here are perfectly good. What you're saying about them is a load of rubbish! Besides, you said no one hear matters, what about you mother, what about Romulus, what about _me? _Septimus, I don't think you're thinking clearly at all."

"We'll agree to differ on that." He replied, his voice cold and angry.

Marcia could contain her fury no longer. "Septimus, do you think going to find Jenna is going to make her love you? Are you that blind? She's not over Beetle, she loves him and part of her always will. She will _never_ you in the same way, no matter how much time you waste trying to win her over. I see the way you try to get her attention every time you see her. It's extremely pathetic, Septimus. She's moved on, and you need to as well. Wake up and realize she's over you and start acting like a leader."

This was the final straw for Septimus. "Marcia, you don't have any idea what my relationship with Jenna is like, no idea at all. It's just like you to act like an authority on something you don't know anything about. You're not stopping me from going anywhere, go to hell."

Marcia was through arguing. She wasn't going to take that kind of disrespect any longer. "Fine." She said, sharply. "Get out of here. But don't come crying to me when you need help. You're on your own from now on."

Septimus didn't answer her, he just walked through the door to his bedroom and slammed in behind him, leaving Marcia behind him.

Nicko was nearly as angry as Septimus, but for an entirely different reason. He had just discovered a strange pair of underwear underneath his bed. He knew it was a man's underwear, but it was definitely not his. Nicko knew that could only mean one thing.

As he was examining the underwear, his son, Theo, walked into the room. Nicko addressed his child. "Hey, Theo, have you ever seen these around her before? They're not mine."

Theo knew he had promised Snorri he wouldn't tell his father anything, but he just couldn't keep his promise. He had a feeling his father needed to know. So right there and then, little Theo spilled the whole story of night he had seen the other man with Snorri. The more Nicko listened, to angrier he became. He was going to have to have a very serious talk with his wife.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. First off, I want you all to know that I really appreciate your comments on this story. I'm sorry it's turning out to be so dark. I had a feeling it would be when I started outlining it. But I feel it is necessary to explain why. When I first started writing Guilty Pleasures, I intended for it to be a dark, somewhat creepy story. However, I quickly became afraid that no one would want to read it that way, so I made it more light hearted. I went a little crazier with Forgotten. It didn't have a whole lot of death, but it did have a lot of risqué themes in it. I based it on a little farce my friend and I wrote last year called Sleazy Men and their Whores. We wrote it to make each other laugh. I bet you can guess by the title that this was the inspiration for "Silarse" and all of his obnoxious antics. But the only reason I am writing Forbidden Paradise is that I want to have a chance to write the ending that I always intended for GP to have. I am lucky because I know most of my reviewers are tolerating my craziness with this story, but I want you guys to feel free to tell me if you think I am going overboard with some of the events that occur in this. Your opinions matter. But I do want to write this story according to my original outline this time, instead of altering it as I go along like I did with GP. Oh yeah, before I shut up, I have one more thing to say. I want to say that some of your lists for my "game" are incredibly close. You guys are really smart (or maybe I'm really obvious…..) But in any case, thanks for putting some thought into it. I am seriously writing a oneshot about whatever the winner of the game want me to, even if it's about characters I can't stand. I'm actually worried that I'm going to have a tie..or a three way tie! Yikes, I guess I'll figure that out when I get there. I still have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Chapter Seven

It didn't take the witches three days to make their way into the Castle after Septimus Heap left. Just as Marcia had suspected, Morwenna viewed the absence of the Queen and the ExtraOrdinary Wizard as the opportune moment to strike. Romulus was the first of the Pyes to notice the witches returning. He could see them from the window at the top of Wizard Tower. "Dad," he called, "Dad, the witches have come back, you know, the ones the Mum said were dangerous. They're here!"

Marcellus, who had been busy reading in the back of the library, looked up. "Are you sure, Romulus?" he asked, approaching the window. He felt a sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach.

"Yes! Of course, I'm sure. They've come back to the Castle." Then lowering his voice a little, Romulus added. "They've come because Septimus and the Queen have gone, haven't they?"

Marcellus didn't answer. He knew his son was right, but he didn't want to acknowledge it. "I don't know-" Marcellus began, but a familiar voice cut him off.

"You're absolutely correct, Romulus." Marcia said as she strode into the room. Marcellus rolled his eyes. Why did Marcia have to admit something that was doubtlessly going to scare their son?

Marcia's voice interrupted his thoughts."Marcellus, I need to see you for a moment. Come with me. Romulus, go and get your sister and we'll meet you back here in a moment." Romulus paused. There was an urgency in his mother's voice which scared him. "Well, go on." Marcia snapped irritably. Romulus did as he was told.

Once, she and Marcellus were alone, Marcia said, "Marcellus, I want you to take the children out of the Castle while you've still got time."

Marcellus shook his head. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

"Marcellus," sighed Marcia, "I'd love to keep you and the children here with me, but I can't, that would be selfish. It's not going to be safe here any longer. Without Septimus and Jenna around, I'm afraid that these witches will have no trouble taking this place over."

"That may be, but I'm still not leaving you. Why don't you leave the Castle with us? You're not the ExtraOrdinary Wizard anymore, what obligation do you have to be here? Please, Marcia."

"Marcellus, we haven't got time to argue about this, just get Romulus and Celesta out of the Castle. I know it's dangerous, but the best way for you to go will be through the ice tunnels. No one will see you there. You can use the Wizard Tower sled. I can't go with you, Marcellus. I've got to stay with these people and defend them. Even if I'm not ExtraOrdinary anymore, I'm the closest thing they've got to one. I may be their last chance." Both Marcellus and Marcia were so caught up in their conversation that they didn't even hear Romulus and Celesta come into the room.

Romulus came into the library just in time to hear his mother say, "Marcellus, I promise this is the best way. Stop trying to fight me about it, we're nearly out of time, for God's sake! If you love the children at all, you'll save them while you've still got a chance."

"Marcia, of course I love the children, but I just don't feel comfortable leaving you here." Just as Marcellus spoke these words, there was a loud banging on the door, Marcia **barred** it and for a moment, the entire Pye Family was safe. Then, just as she had many years before, Marcia threw open the hatch that led to the rubbish chute.

"Marcellus," she whispered, "This is the only way you can get away from the Tower without being seen. Go on, you're wasting time." Then looking in the direction of her children, she said,

"Romulus, Celesta, follow your father, I'll catch up with you."

Romulus cast his eyes at the floor. Something told him that his mother was not telling the truth. Celesta, however, had no such suspicion.

"Mummy," she said, her sweet young voice filled with terror, "Mummy, do I have to go down that chute? It's so dark! I want to stay here with you."

Marcia saw the fear in her daughter's eyes, and her voice softened. "Celesta, this is the only way to get out of this. Be a brave girl and go down the chute. Your father will be with you, don't be afraid." Celesta couldn't help it. She was afraid. Suddenly, there was another loud bang on the door, and Celesta decided she was more afraid of the people on the outside of the door than she was of the chute.

"Mummy, I'll go into the chute if you come with me." These words unsettled Marcia more than she expected. A big part of her wanted nothing more than to follow her family into the chute, but she knew she had to help the Castle. If Septimus wouldn't someone had to. But still, this sentence coming from her tiny daughter had caught her of guard. So much so that she had had to look away from Celesta to answer her. Celesta thought it was because Marcia was watching the door to the library to make sure no one came in, but Marcellus and Romulus knew it was because she was fighting the urge to cry. This particularly bothered Romulus because he had never seen his mother cry, not once.

"Celesta, I promise you'll see me soon."

"Really?" asked the little girl hopefully.

"Of course-" but before Marcia could even finish her thought, Celesta had thrown her arms around her and was telling her good bye. Marcia embraced her daughter and then turned to Romulus and embraced him as well. While he was in her arms, he whispered, "Good bye, Mum." Marcia could tell by the heavy sound of his voice that he was crying. Something in Romulus's attitude reminded her so much of the farewells she had exchanged with Marcellus and Septimus nine years earlier.

"Romulus, Romulus, it's all right. This will all be over in a few days and I'll come and **find** you. I'll be okay, I can handle this. Have a little faith." Marcia's words sounded confident, but when Romulus pulled away from her, he could feel that his hair was wet. Doubtlessly, it was not his own tears that caused this.

Finally, Marcia turned to Marcellus. "Take care of them." she muttered, "You're doing the right thing. I have to stay here."

"I feel like complete dirt leaving here without you. I'm still not sure I can. Marcia, I don't know if..well, I don't know what our future is going to be like, but I want you to know how much I love you." Marcellus seemed a little bashful, but he was passionate as well. Marcia took him into her arms and kissed him, forgetting for a moment that her children were watching the scene. Both Romulus and Celesta exchanged disgusted glances. They were still at an age where kissing was considered nasty.

"I love you too, Marcellus, you know I do. But you've got to hurry. It's time." Marcellus took one last look at his dear wife, the mother of his children and then within a few moments, all three of the Pyes had jumped into the chute, leaving Marcia to face these atrocious foes.

Meanwhile, Nicko was so caught up in an argument with his wife that he hadn't even noticed that the witches had entered the Castle. He was too busy having a battle of his own.

Snorri was screaming at him, calling him a lousy bastard and a cheap assed husband who any woman in her right mind would cheat on. Nicko had fired back horrific comments at her, and Theo was upstairs, listening to it all and wishing he had never told his father the truth. This was all his fault.

Just as Theo was throwing a pillow over his head to block out the noise, there was an unbelievably loud crashing sound that came from the basement of the house. Theo sat up in a flash. He knew the sound immediately. It was the unmistakable ring of a gun being fired. Theo could contain himself no longer, he rushed down the stairs to the basement, where he found his father standing over his mother. She was lying on the ground, lifeless and blood was dripping from her torso.

Nicko stuttered, obviously in shock. " I..I don't know what came over me..I just don't know what happened. For a second, oh God, I wasn't me, I just wasn't myself." Nicko fell to his knees and took his wife's corpse into his arms, still horrified at the event that had just taken place. He was still ignoring his son entirely. Nicko was rambling.

"Why did I let her words upset me? Damn it, we would have made up, I know we could have, but I let myself get so worked up and I snapped. I've never snapped like that! Oh Snorri, Snorri, Snorri!"

Theo walked toward his father and cried on his shoulder. Nicko didn't even acknowledge him. Father and son spent the rest of the night over Snorri's corpse. Neither was too ashamed to cry.

Jenna was terrified. She was lying alone in the dark, but images from the room Merrin had showed her were keeping her awake. Merrin, though he was not at all talented, had managed to prefect an extremely difficult **darke** trick. He had learned how **preserve and possess **human bodies. In other words, Merrin had picked up various human bodies over the years and he had taught **things **how to inhabit them. Now, these bodies acted as Merrin's servants. The leader of the **things **happened to be possessing a body that Jenna had known well. It had once belonged to her violent cousin, Misty Banda. When Jenna had looked into Misty's eyes, all she could see were black holes from which oozed a white colored puss. Jenna had been unable to take the sight. Merrin told her that the **things **were to be her servants and that they would wait on her every command. Jenna had no intention of calling any of them to do work for her anytime soon. She knew she would have to get out of the badlands and fast, before things got even worse for her. Unfortunately, the worst part of Jenna's stay with Merrin Meredith was yet to come.

**AN-I know, I know, it's an extremely short chapter, but I really sets up the next one, I promise. Stuff starts getting good here. Stay tuned.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Septimus.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. I want to clear something up really fast. Nicko is not crazy, nor do I think he is crazy. He just snapped and went mad with jealousy for a moment. It's happened to a lot of people. He didn't set out to kill Snorri. Okay, now that I've said that, I think I am ready to do my chapter dedication this is for Arty, Izanami, xCryfortheGrave, alde-ami, and Iluvcatz. I love hearing your opinions.

Chapter Eight

Septimus was standing outside the Observatory, but unfortunately, Septimus had no way of knowing it was there. Merrin was one step ahead of him. He had asked Clarissa to **enchant **it for him before he moved in and now, the Observatory was only visible to Clarissa, Merrin, and whomever else they wanted it to be visible to. That did not include Septimus so he was forced to stumble around, looking it with no success whatsoever. But he wasn't going to give up. He was sure that Merrin had hidden her somewhere. He was beginning to become frustrated. Why hadn't any of his brothers come to help him? The obviously didn't care enough about Jenna to find out what had happened to her. Septimus made a solemn vow to himself that he would not return to the Castle until he came back with Jenna, no matter how long it took. The news of the witches attack on the Castle had reached him, but he had still refused to turn back. It wasn't that he didn't want to defend his home, but Jenna mattered so much more than anything he had left behind. He couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but only a little. He still had a job to do.

Jenna was in her bedroom when Septimus passed by the hidden Observatory. Although he couldn't see her, she most certainly could see him and Jenna had no idea that the Observatory was **enchanted.** Unable to control herself, Jenna ran to the window and banged on it as loudly as she could. Sep had come for her! She never should have doubted him. Hardy caring that Merrin would hear, Jenna screamed, "Sep! Septimus! Oh Sep, it's me. Can't you hear me? It's Jenna. I'm alive." But to Jenna's dismay, Septimus didn't respond at all. She felt her heart sink in her chest, the awful truth beginning to dawn on her. Septimus couldn't hear her. Doubtlessly, the Observatory was **enchanted.**

But someone had heard Jenna's cries, the **thing **that was inhabiting Misty's body crept into her room while she was busy banging on the window. Before Jenna could react, she felt a pair of powerful arms pull her from the window and throw her onto the ground. Jenna was overcome with the smell of rotting flesh and she caught her breath. She looked up in disgust just in time to see her cousin's corpse raising her decomposing hand to slap Jenna across the face.

"Stop!" boomed a voice from the doorway, Jenna's expression of horror changed to a mix between horror and contempt when she saw who it was.

"I figured you be here soon enough." Jenna snapped, "Can't you leave me alone, Merrin? I've spent all evening with you and you horrific followers. I see my…brother outside. He has come for me! You can't stop me from getting to him." Then, Jenna again ran to the window and threw herself at it, trying desperately to get to Septimus.

Merrin's voice stopped her. "Jenna, if you ever attempt to escape from me again, I'll see to it that your daughter is killed."

Jenna quit struggling. For a moment, she was unable to breathe. Delilah was alive? Merrin knew where she was Jenna was about to demand that he return her daughter to her right then and there, but she paused for a moment. She had a feeling that arguing with Merrin wasn't going to get him to give her Delilah. She was going to have to be very nice to Merrin for a while.

"I apologize." She said, trying to calm herself. She dropped her eyes respectfully, hoping he was buying her act.

Merrin smiled. At last, the Queen was seeing some sense. "Good. Now return to your bed. It's late, my darling." Jenna cringed at this term of endearment escaping Merrin's lips, but then she thought of Delilah so she didn't protest.

Misty's corpse was standing behind Merrin. She seemed to be looking at Jenna with an ominous stare. Then, to Jenna's shock, Misty leaned in and kissed Merrin on his lips. Jenna gagged. Did Merrin kiss everything with a face? It was starting to seem like it.

After he had finished with Misty, he turned to Jenna and said, "Kissing me is fun. Ask your cousin if you don't believe me. Don't you want to try?"

Jenna could hold in her anger no longer. "No!" she screeched, not even thinking about it.

Merrin flushed, but then his face darkened and he said, "You will, you will." Jenna was horribly sure he was going to come over and violate her body, right then and there, but to her immense relief, he clicked his fingers at Misty and they stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind them as they went out. As soon as they were gone, Jenna rushed once more to her window only to discover that Septimus had gone.

Merrin dismissed Misty and allowed her to join his other **things**. Then, he made his way to his own chambers. Merrin actually liked his room, it was incredibly secret and he had never allowed any of the **things** to enter it. It was just too personal. When he walked into it, he escaped from reality and came into the world that he truly wanted to live in.

The room wasn't all that large, but it was filled with all of the things Merrin had spent much of the last nine years working on. In the past few years, Merrin had discovered, quite by accident that he was a talented artist. He had been trying to sketch Jenna from memory and his finished product actually turned out to look remarkably like the Queen. So, from then on, Merrin spent much time drawing different pictures of Jenna, most of them depicted her without her clothing. He also created sculptures that showed Jenna in various poses. Merrin was proud of his art and he had every intention of showing it to Jenna once Clarissa's spell really got going. Merrin was a bit worried about that. Usually, Clarissa's **magyk** worked immediately, however, this time, it was taking forever. He was beginning to wonder if it was going to work at all. It was just Merrin's luck that he couldn't have the thing he really wanted. Merrin hated himself for becoming so focused on Jenna, but he couldn't help it. He was in too deep. He had only one wish left in the world now, and only Jenna's love could help him complete it. He was determined to win her, no matter what.

Septimus had just reached Aunt Zelda's. Visits to his great aunt and nephews always cleared his head and he hoped that maybe, Aunt Zelda might have a clue where Jenna was. He could only hope. His mind could focus on nothing else. Finding Jenna was his obsession and it was taking him over. He didn't think he would be able to live without her.

When Septimus walked into Zelda's, he was surprised to see his brother Nicko in the sitting room. "Nik!" he exclaimed, "Nik, what are you doing here?"

Nicko decided to keep his answer simple. "Sep, the Castle's under attack. The witches came back just after you left. Theo and I came here to find some refuge."

"And Snorri?" asked Septimus, he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He already knew the answer to his own question.

Nicko looked at his feet. "Oh, Nik," he said, reaching out to touch his brothers shoulder, "I'm so, sorry."

Nicko was glad Septimus thought the witches had killed his wife. Better for him to think that than to know the wretched truth.

Theo hadn't spoken since he had found his father holding his mother's corpse. He had been shocked into silence. Nicko had tried to get him to talk, but he had failed. He hated it that Theo had had to see what he had. It was so unfair.

Just then, Aunt Zelda immerged from the kitchen. "Oh Septimus." She said, trying to smile, but not quite succeeding. "I'm glad you've made it. Come on, sit down. I've got some terrible news."

"I heard about Snorri." Septimus said quietly, "Nicko must be devastated."

"Yes, it's awful, but there's more to it than that. You might want to sit down."

Septimus felt sick. "It's Jenna, isn't it? Somethings happened to her? Aunt Zelda, where is she?"

"It's not Jenna either, Septimus. The witches have taken over the Castle. Morwenna's place herself in charge. They're treating the people terribly. Do you realize that the witches have connections? Did you know that they were connected to that mad group of necromancers, you know, the nomadic group that doesn't really have a home, the ones that just go around killing people?" Septimus nodded. He remembered when Marcia had told him about these brutish men, but he had never thought they would give the Castle any trouble. "Well, Morwenna's really good friends with the leader of that group and to thank them for helping her and the other Wendrons stage their takeover, she traded almost of all of the Castle's women to them."

Septimus didn't like the sound of that. "Traded? What do you mean?"

"They were traded to the nomadic necromancers. Almost all the women in the city are sex slaves! What don't you understand about that?"

Septims was thinking fast. That included Marcia! "Aunt Zelda, you said almost all of them. What about Marcia, is she all right? Surely she is, she's so tough. What about the women who weren't sold into sex slavery?"

Aunt Zelda was silent for a moment, starring into the fire. At last, she said, "They're dead."

Septimus was at a loss for words. "What?"

"Dead." Aunt Zelda repeated. "I don't know which of these categories Marcia falls into. I haven't heard. But Marcellus and the children escaped. They're upstairs. I wouldn't go and see Marcellus now, I think he's pretty angry with you."

"With me? Why?"

"He blames you for what happened in the Castle. He thinks that if you hadn't left, none of this would have happened. But of course, he blames himself as well. He thinks he should have stayed with Marcia. But you and I both know that that wouldn't have improved anything. Personally, I don't think she's dead because I think Morwenna would get more joy out of making her miserable while she's still alive. But in any case, many lives were lost and many more lives are in jeopardy. Septimus, I am asking you, no I'm begging you, to return to the Castle and see what you can do fix things. Please."

Septimus looked into his Aunt's eyes, they looked ashen and exhausted. For a moment, he considered agreeing to her request. But then he remembered Jenna. Jenna was still in trouble. She still needed him. He wasn't going to let her down.

"I'm sorry Aunt Zelda, I can't. Jenna needs me. I hope you'll understand."

Zelda had heard enough. "That's selfish, Septimus. You're the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, you need to help your people. Marcia would have."

"You know what? I am getting really tired of hearing about what Marcia would have done. I don't really care. Marcia didn't know what it's like to love a person.." he stopped. Marcellus was standing in the doorway. His face was closed over with anger and distrust for Septimus. Before he could even open his mouth, Septimus exploded. "I've had it! I've had it with you people! You don't care about Jenna, all you care about is yourselves. You deserve to suffer, I hope you all suffer a good long time." With those words, Septimus Heap rushed out of the house and into the night.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Sarah Heap was incredibly tired. She had spent all night in the arms of a man large enough to make three of her. It was a wonder he hadn't squished her. Sarah was furious with Septimus. She couldn't believe he had abandoned his people. It was something Silas would have done, but not Septimus. Not her darling son. Sarah was miserable. She hadn't seen her husband Terry in four days and she had no idea what the witches had done with him. She also worried for her daughter, Jenna, who had simply vanished a few days earlier. Sarah would give anything to know where her family was. At least if they were safe, she could be somewhat content.

Sarah and most of the other women from the Castle were staying in an old beaten up manor, not unlike the one Clarissa was using to hide Delilah in. It was huge, huge enough to wear many of the Castle women could live and work there. _Work there_, Sarah sighed to herself. The manor was basically a whorehouse. Sarah cringed at the thought. Silas would have loved it here.

Sarah was glad to have a minute alone. Her found hundred pound customer had demanded a lot of her. Now, at last, she could sleep. But part of Sarah didn't really want to sleep. She knew her dreams would be filled with images of happier times and that she would most likely wake up crying. She was not looking forward to that at all.

Marcia was faring no better. She too had just managed to get rid of her last customer, a small wiry man with a bad temper. He was the first man who had touched her since she had married Marcellus and she had hated every minute of it. Marcia actually got a room to herself, well, more of a closet really. In the corner of the room sat an old dusty bed and a broken mirror. There was nothing more than that. Marcia glanced at herself in the mirror. Her hair was disheveled and she had a large bruise developing on her right cheek from where her customer had squeezed her skin too hard. Marcia didn't look good. Much like Sarah, she was already tired. But unlike Sarah, many of the men who visited the manor wanted to sleep with Marcia so she was "busier" than Sarah. Some of the other women were envious. At least Marcia was making money. Marcia couldn't have cared less about money. She felt horribly like she was betraying Marcellus. She still blamed Septimus for her misfortune. She felt cheated by him. Even though she tried, she still couldn't quite believe he had abandoned the Castle to search for Jenna. It was rather immature and not the sort of thing a good ExtraOrdinary Wizard should do. It was certainly not, thought Marcia, the kind of thing she would have done. She had every intention of getting herself out of her current situation, and once she did, she was going to give her idiot apprentice a piece of her mind. The Castle needed an ExtraOrdinary who cared about what they were doing and, if Septimus was going to, Marcia would. Marcia was more than ready to take the amulet back from Septimus. He wasn't as ready as she had thought. But before she did that, she intended to **find **Marcellus and her children and make sure they were okay. Her family was her first priority. Marcia was sure she could escape. She didn't know how, but she would find a way. She usually did.

Clarissa Demarte was starring dully out of her window. She wondered if Merrin realizes that she had not cursed Queen Jenna yet. In fact, Clarissa had no intention of cursing Jenna. For a while, Clarissa had thought Merrin might be useful, after all, he had been DomDaniel's apprentice. But now she was beginning to realize that he was nothing more than a lovesick child. Clarissa was positive she didn't need lovesick children to help her take control of the Castle. All she had to do was thwart those obnoxious witches and the whole city would be hers. That was all she was wishing for now. Originally, she had planned to kill the young Princess but now, she was beginning to see that she might be able to use her to her advantage. It was actually useful to have someone of royal blood around and Clarissa decided that, if she could finish off the Queen and eventually, Merrin as well, she might be able to raise the young Princess to follow her ways. Then, Clarissa could become the ExtraOrdinary Wizard and she would have a Queen who supported her. Clarissa couldn't help but wish DomDaniel could see her now. He would be proud. She was one step ahead of everyone else. All she had to do was finish that disgusting Septimus Heap, the Queen, and Marcia Pye. Clarissa had promised Marcia years earlier that she would be the one to finish her off and she was still looking forward to honoring that promise.

As soon as Clarissa thought of Marcia, a certain, amusing thing occurred to her. Something she could do to make Marcia really angry. In some ways, Clarissa wanted to make her suffer a little longer before she finished her. Of course she wanted to make Septimus and Queen Jenna suffer as well, but she decided to deal with Marcia first. Clarissa considered both Marcia and Septimus responsible for her son's death and she intended to make life very difficult for both of them. She had already made Septimus's life miserable by **enchanting **the Observatory. Contrary to what Merrin believed, Clarissa had not **enchanted **it just to make him happy. In fact, she had only **enchanted **it to make it impossible for Septimus to reach Jenna. So now the time had come for her to torture Marcia and she knew just what she was going to do to accomplish that. This was going to be fun.

Not far away, Aunt Zelda was lying in her bed, listening to the sounds of Nicko snoring quietly. All of the adults were sleeping upstairs, while the children were sleeping downstairs by the fireplace. Aunt Zelda couldn't help but notice that Marcellus wasn't snoring at all, which led her to think that maybe Marcellus wasn't asleep at all. Perhaps he was doing the same thing she was, just lying in bed and starring at the wall. But she couldn't be sure of this, it was too dark to tell. Aunt Zelda knew that Marcellus was worried about Marcia. How could he not be? Frankly, she was surprised that Marcellus hadn't gotten up into the middle of the night to try and go after her. Of course, Aunt Zelda was thankful that he had not done this, but she didn't put it past him. As she was thinking about Marcia's dire circumstances, her mind drifted to Morwenna. Aunt Zelda had never completely trusted Morwenna, but she had never thought she would be capable of this level of treachery. Morwenna's behavior just proved a point Aunt Zelda made quite often: you never know about people. They're full of surprises.

Just then, Aunt Zelda heard the sound of one of the children coming up the stairs. She expected it to be Theo. After all he had just been through, she didn't doubt that he wanted to comfort of being around his father. But instead of Theo, little Celesta entered the room. Aunt Zelda lit a small candle and she was just able to make out the small form of this child. Her wide brown eyes looked very frightened and her ebony curls were all out of place. "Zelda?" she whispered, catching sight of the white witch's stunning blue eyes in the fire light.

"Yes dear. What is it?"

Celesta shook her head and murmured. "I had a really bad dream."

Zelda motioned for her to come on to her bed and she asked soothingly, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No." Celesta sniffled, and Aunt Zelda knew in a moment that she had been crying.

"There, there." Aunt Zelda said, pulling the little girl into an embrace. "Shh..shh it's all right. I'm here, I've got you."

Celesta continued to cry into Aunt Zelda's shoulder. At last she said, quietly, "I miss Mummy. Do you think she's okay?'

Honestly, Aunt Zelda didn't know the answer to that question, but she knew what she had to tell this child. "I'm sure she is. You'll see her soon, dear. Your mother has gotten out of some very difficult situations before, this will be no different. But you need to get some sleep." Aunt Zelda made a spot for Celesta on the bed and said, "Why don't you sleep up here tonight?"

Celesta smiled. "Thank you." she replied. She didn't want to go back downstairs. Aunt Zelda returned the smile. She was always glad when she was able to help others.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Romulus awoke breathing hard. He too had just had a nightmare . It was the same dream he had seen twice before, but this time, it had even more detail than it had had the first two times. It had been positively petrifying. What bothered Romulus most about this dream was that in it, Septimus had been the antagonist. Marcia had told Romulus time and time again that recurring dreams usually meant something. The scary part was, Romulus's tutor was beginning to act more and more like an antagonist. Romulus didn't want to admit it, but he was beginning to have trouble trusting Septimus. Romulus was starting to wonder if she should tell Marcellus about the dream. He knew it would be hard to explain, but it might be worth it. He was going to have to try. If there was any chance his dream meant something, he wanted to prevent the events that occurred in his dream from occurring in his life.

The next morning, Jenna was standing outside of Merrin's private study. Merrin himself was in another part of the Observatory at the time and he had given Jenna strict instructions never to go anywhere near Merrin's quarters, which was why Jenna was determined to see what was inside them. As usual, Jenna's curiosity was getting the better of her. She decided it wouldn't hurt to take one little peek into Merrin's study.

When Jenna walked into the room, she half expected to see a possessed body sitting inside, guarding Merrin's things. But instead, she saw no one. And then, she saw herself.

As Jenna glanced around the room, she became more and more shocked. There were magnificent paintings and sketches of her in various poses wearing various expressions and there were magnificent sculptures of her everywhere she looked. Many of these depicted her wearing very little clothing at all, which upset her, but only a little. Jenna could hardly believe Merrin had taken the time to make these things. He had hardly seemed artistic to her and she had never thought he had taken her seriously. In spite of herself, Jenna was blown away by the quality of some of his work.

Jenna was so immersed in studying Merrin's art that she didn't hear the footsteps coming up the stairs until it was too late. To her dismay, Jenna heard the door creak open .

"Hey!" Merrin shouted, "What the hell are you doing up here?"

Jenna caught her breath. This was not going to be an easy conversation.


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I don't own any of these crazy characters.

Author's Note: Thanks to all those who are reading this. Oh and I want to let you guys know that you can count Aunt Zelda on your list of main characters and possibly Sarah Heap as well. Their parts are only going to get bigger as this story continues.

Chapter Ten

Septimus was unsure of what to do next. He didn't know where to begin looking for Jenna. She didn't seem to be anywhere, which was disturbing him more and more every day. Surely she wasn't already dead. That was not even worth thinking about. He decided that, if he did discover Jenna was dead, he would take his own life. A world without Jenna was not worth living in. Before long, Septimus realized that he was going to need the help of another Wizard to locate Jenna. He was not managing it on his own. Unfortunately for Septimus, he could only think of one Wizard who was his equal in power and intelligence and that was his ex-tutor, Marcia Pye. Septimus desperately wanted the support of another person since he was not managing to find Jenna. But Septimus wasn't sure what Marcia would say to him once he found her. Most likely, she wouldn't be happy to see him at all which kind of made sense. Septimus had to admit, he hadn't been treating her or her family very well the past few weeks. But he couldn't help it. Jenna was in danger and until he got her out of it, he didn't have time to be kind to the Pyes. But he realized that he was going to have to get on Marcia's good side again, and Septimus knew Marcia well enough to know that might be very difficult. But he would attempt it for Jenna's sake. So reluctantly, Septimus Heap mad his way back to the Castle.

Marcia was spending another lonely night tending to her customers needs. She had just manage to get rid of the last of them half an hour earlier. Marcia using her free time to think about her family. She had a feeling that the witches were probably looking for them and that made Marcia very uncomfortable. Morwenna was determined to kill all of the children born to Wizards because there was a possibility that those children might grow up and become Wizards as well. The witches wanted to weed out as many Wizards as they could.

Marcia was so busy worrying about the well being of her children that she didn't even notice the sound of someone tapping on her window. Eventually though, it became loud enough for Marcia to notice it.

Marcia was puzzled and a bit nervous. Who would tap on her window at this time of night? She decided it wouldn't hurt to peer out and see who it was. When she looked down at the figure standing below her window, her heart sank. She had been secretly hoping it would be Marcellus. She wanted to see him again so badly. But to her dismay, it was not her beloved husband, but Septimus Heap looking up at her. Marcia knew she was going to have to let him in, she had to speak with him anyway.

Carefully, she creaked open the window and Septimus climbed through it. Once he was inside, he whispered, "Marcia, I'm sorry."

"No you're not." Marcia snapped irritably. "You are a disgrace, Septimus Heap, a complete disgrace! I can't believe you would show your face here. You've ruined the Castle. It will never be the same again. You are the most immature individual I have been around since your father! Septimus, I never thought you woul- Oh God, I just can't believe you did this to us."

Septimus groaned. Just as he had predicted, this wouldn't be easy. "I know, I know, I didn't know what I was doing. You're right I lost my head. But I've got to find Jenna, Marcia, I've just got to. Listen, I know you're not happy with me, but I want you to know that I really do feel guilty. You've got to believe me, you've just got to. "

Marcia was about to protest when Septimus said, "Marcia, I know where your family is If you help me, I'll lead you to them."

Marcia laughed. "So that's what this is about? You don't care about the Castle, you just want to use me to help you find Jenna. Well, I'm sorry to say that I will be able to **find **my family with no problem at all once I get out of here. But I do want to thank you for providing me with the opportunity to escape." Septimus paused. He could have sworn that Marcia's voice was mocking him.

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

Marcia didn't answer him. Instead, she approached him and threw her arms around his neck. Septimus was confused, but relieved. Was Marcia forgiving him? Unconsciously, he returned her embrace.

When they broke apart, Septimus felt his throat. Something felt different. Suddenly he realized what it was. The amulet was gone! Marcia had taken it! "You bitch!" whined Septimus, "Give me back my amulet."

"Septimus, I've told you before. The amulet belongs to no one. Only those who are worthy to run the Castle will wear it. You are not worthy. The amulet will provide me with the power I need to save this city and its citizens. You are a coward, Septimus Heap."

Septimus rushed toward Marcia, trying to reclaim the amulet, but Marcia was quicker. Before he could get to her, she vanished, right before his eyes.

"Damn it!" he cried, "Damn it! Damn it!" Septimus felt like a complete failure. How many people actually got defeated by their ex tutor? Septimus had a feeling the answer to that question would be not many.

Marcia **transported **herself to the Palace, where she had no doubt Morwenna would be. She was not incorrect in this assumption. Morwenna was reclining on the throne, drinking a glace of wine and laughing as a few of the younger witches did her toenails. When Marcia entered the room, Morwenna was shocked. Marcia was one of Morwenna's whores, what was she doing in the Palace? In an ExtraOrdinary Wizard uniform no less? Morwenna didn't have a chance to think about her questions for very long.

A **thunderflash **from Marcia's left hand and hit Morwenna squarely in the chest. She flopped to the ground like a noodle and squished one of her young witches on her way down. All of the witches screamed and ran around like chickens with their heads cut off. With Morwenna dead, the witches now longer had any wish to stay in the Castle. Doubtlessly, Marcia would free the Wizards and they would kill the entire Coven. So the witches fled. By the end of the evening, Marcia had freed the Castle prisoners and released all of the sex slaves. The group of necromancer with whom Morwenna had been on good terms with had disappeared. No one knew where they had gone. Marcia had a bad feeling that they might return, but she intended to be ready for them if they did. She was once again the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. All was right with the world.

For Septimus, nothing was right with the world. He was furious with Marcia for tricking him and he decided that, once he found Jenna, he was going to go and give Marcia a real piece of his mind. He already knew just what he would do and it wasn't going to be pleasant for her. She was going to see that no one made a fool of him and got away with it.

The news of Marcia's triumph over Morwenna reached Zelda's cottage very quickly. Marcellus was overjoyed, and Nicko was relieved. Even though he was still extremely bothered by the death of Snorri and by his action which caused it, at least he could return home and try to continue a somewhat normal life. He had yet to tell anyone how Snorri had died, and he didn't intend to. They all thought the witches had killed her. Nicko had even managed to convince his son that he had found Snorri's body in the basement. Theo believed him because he didn't think Nicko would have been as sad as he was about Snorri if he had been the one who had finished her off. Theo was only five and therefore, had yet to learn about crime of passion and Nicko didn't think he was nearly old enough to know about it now.

Celesta was ecstatic. Her father had just informed her that the witches had been kicked out of the Castle and that her mother was responsible. Celesta didn't doubt that for a moment. Many children Celesta's age still view their parents as super heroes and she believed Marcia could fight her way out of anything. Celesta also had no idea that her mother had been the ExtraOrdianry Wizard before so she was prancing around the house saying, "My Mummy is the ExtraOrdinary Wizard." Only she couldn't exactly pronounce ExtraOrdinary which led to some hilarity amongst the adults.

Romulus was happy but he didn't know what to think about Marcia taking over Septimus's position. At eight years old, Romulus already knew that Marcia had been ExtraOrdinary before and he didn't understand why she would take the position from Septimus. Somehow, he had a feeling Septimus hadn't just handed his position to Marcia. If Marcia had taken Septimus's position, he might be angry with her. And then…Romulus thought of his dream and shuddered. He would have to tell his father now. His dream might be coming true.

At the same time, Jenna was standing in the Observatory watching Merrin enter the room that she was forbidden to go to. "I told you never to come here!" he was shouting, "Why did you come here?" Merrin was blushing with fury and, Jenna thought for a moment that he looked embarrassed. That gave her the courage to speak to him.

"These things," she said, gesturing at the sculptures. "Did you make them?"

Instead of getting angry, Merrin looked sheepish. "Yes."

"They're so beautiful." Jenna sighed. Merrin blushed a deeper red. "But why?" She stopped, not willing to ask why all of the sculptures and sketches depicted her.

"Why are they all depictions of you?" Merrin finished her question for her. Jenna nodded, shocked that he was taking this so calmly. "Jenna," he said in a quiet voice, "ever since I went into hiding nine years ago, I have been dreaming of you. I don't know why. It's such a sin, such a curse for a guy like me to dream of a classy woman like you, but I do it anyway. I don't know why you stuck in my mind, but you did. It's so unfair in so many ways. I shouldn't have to adore a single woman like I adore you. No man should, it's a prison. But at the same time, it's a paradise. I can't explain it. I didn't want you to know this, I didn't want you to see how pathetic I am, how horrifically in love I am with you. You are my forbidden paradise who I will never have, never hold because life will not permit it."

Jenna was flabbergasted. Never in her wildest dreams had she imagined Merrin speaking like this. What had she done to make a monster like Merrin fall in love with her? She didn't know, but she was touched by his words in spite of herself. "Oh, oh" was all she could say.

"Have I shocked you? Forgive me, I am so stupid. Everyone's right when they call me stupid. I am! I am! I have displeased you!" Merrin's face looked hurt and helpless. Jenna laughed.

"Displeased me? Hardly. I've just discovered that you have a heart. I'm very happy." Jenna was about to ask Merrin if she could have her daughter. It seemed like an appropriate time to do so. But then she stopped herself. She still didn't know about Merrin. He had a bad temper, she knew that much. She decided to stay silent for a moment. She figured that, if she could work her charms on Merrin long enough, he would let her have Delilah.

Jenna felt there was no time like the present to begin her work. She leaned in slowly and gave Merrin a light kiss on his lips, which he immediately deepened. He pulled Jenna closer to him and they kissed passionately. At last, Jenna broke free. Merrin didn't protest. He didn't try and force her to keep going. He simply said, "Thank you." Jenna smiled slightly.

"I'm tired." she announced. "I'm going to retire to my chambers. I will see you in the morning."

"Jenna?" Merrin called out as she was leaving.

"What?" she replied.

"Tomorrow, will you join me for breakfast?" Merrin sounded hopeful.

"Yes, I believe I will." Jenna said, sounding like the regal Queen she was. "Good night, Merrin."

"Good night, my Queen." He said softly. For a long time, Merrin was too excited to sleep. However, eventually, his tired body got the better of him. While he was asleep though, he had the oddest dreams he had ever had. He had imagined that he would dream of Jenna. In fact, he wanted to very badly. Her kiss had been perfect , an undeniable pleasure. But instead of dreaming of this kiss, he dreamed of a woman he had not thought of seriously in many years. He awoke with a start, half expecting to find this woman lying beside him in bed the dream had seemed so real. He didn't understand why he was having these thoughts. He had only been with this woman once, why was he thinking of her now? It didn't make sense. And so Merrin spent the rest of the night tossing and turning trying to push all images of Marcia Overstrand Pye from his mind.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I really wish I owned Marcia's shoes. I mean who wouldn't want to wear crusty snakeskin everywhere? JK!

Author's Note: Thanks to all who review. This is for my tutor, Kristina, who will never read this. As many times as you snap at me, I still love you. I want you to know that. I don't think you're that bossy, I promise. I was just in a bad mood on Friday. I would flunk algebra without you, I just thought I'd let you know. I happen to know your significant other is a jerk. Ok, now I really hope you don't read this. But you won't because you don't even know I write this kind of stuff. In this chapter, Merrin gives in to lust, Aunt Zelda discovers a creepy scene, and Marcellus dodges a few bullets. Oh and the next chapter has loads of Nicko in it. Happy reading.

Chapter Eleven

The Pyes had just settled back into the top of the Wizard Tower. Marcia was actually relieved. It felt good to be back in charge. At least now, things could go back to normal. Marcellus was thrilled to have her back in one piece, but she could tell she he was bothered by something. Probably the fact that she had been touched by so many men. How could that not bother him? It still bothered _her _a lot when she thought about it, so she tried not to. Marcellus had been trying to tell Marcia about some dream of Romulus's the day they moved back into the Tower, but Marcia hadn't had time to listen. She was too busy. She promised Marcellus she would hear what he had to say "after they got settled in." Marcellus knew better than to argue with his wife when she had her mind set on something. It was just pointless.

Romulus was finding life without Septimus rather hard to adjust to. Because Septimus was no longer the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, Romulus was now automatically apprenticed to his mother, which was more than a little awkward. Marcia was incredibly strict when it came to **magyk**, and Romulus wasn't sure how he was going to take that. Septimus had always taught him in a more laid back manner. Aside from that, Romulus was still worried about Marcia's well being. He had a feeling several people were going to try and harm her and Romulus wanted to make sure that didn't happen. He was becoming more and more nervous. Even though the witches were gone, he still didn't feel safe, not at all.

Meanwhile, in the Observatory, Merrin Meredith was incredibly confused. He didn't know if it was possible to desire two people at once as much as he desired both Marcia and Jenna. It was just his luck that now, when Jenna was finally giving him her affection and attention, he had to start lusting after someone else. But he still loved being with Jenna. She had become much more comfortable in his home and now, she no longer wanted to leave. Merrin fell more and more in love with her every day, but at the same time, he was coming to adore Marcia. He saw her in his dreams. The look she gave people when she meant business, her dazzling emerald eyes, her pitch black curls that fell to her shoulders, her hands, which were lily white and impossibly young looking, all of these things made Merrin squirm with desire. He couldn't explain it. He didn't know why he suddenly felt so interested in Marcia. She was born in a different generation, even if she did look ridiculously young. He had tried time and time again to forget Marcia, to convince himself that his thoughts were stupid and unrealistic. He loved Jenna and at last, she loved him. Couldn't he be happy with that? Why did life always have to be so complicated for Merrin? Besides, Marcia was married to that disgusting alchemist who had managed to beat him in a fist fight. Merrin didn't know if he was ready to face him again. He had taken about all of the cuts and bruises he could.

One night, after Merrin had lain down to go to sleep, he was startled by a knock on his bedroom door. He opened it and was pleasantly surprises to see Jenna.

"Hello, come in." he said, motioning for Jenna to join him.

Jenna walked into the room and said, "I was afraid you might be bored so I thought I'd provide you with a little..entertainment." As she said this word, Jenna slipped off the robe she was wearing and let it flop to the floor. Merrin was stupefied. There stood Jenna, gorgeous and completely naked. She smiled, and boldly jumped onto his bed. Merrin took the hint. Finally, he was going to get to make love to Jenna. He crawled over to her and ran his hands up and down every part of her body. Jenna moaned with delight and kissed his lips. Merrin could tell this was going to be an exciting evening. (Again, guys. Imaginations! :-0)

Hours later, Jenna was lying in Merrin's arms sleeping peacefully. But Merrin himself was struggling to keep his eyes closed. This evening had not been all he had hoped it would be but it was not Jenna's fault. All night, he had kept imagining that it was Marcia he was making love to and not Jenna. Merrin came to the conclusion that this obsession was spiraling out of control. He only knew one way he could fix it. He was going to have to find Marcia, make love to her, and prove to himself that it wasn't all that great. But Merrin was already too well aware that this would be no easy task. He was going to have to deal with that horrible Marcellus Pye again, but this time, he would be ready for him. There was nothing Marcellus could do to him that a silver pistol couldn't handle.

In the Wizard Tower, Marcia and Marcellus Pye had just finished performing acts rather similar to the ones Merrin and Jenna had just completed, and now, they were lying in bed, talking. Marcellus was telling Marcia about Romulus's dream, which Romulus had just told him about the day before they left Keeper's Cottage in the Marram Marshes. To Marcellus's dismay, Marcia, who was never all that alert after making love, wasn't really taking it too seriously.

"Marcellus," she said, "I think you're getting a bit worked up over nothing. Septimus has gotten a little strange, I'll give you that, but he would never kill me. I lived with Septimus for seven years of my life and deep down, I'm sure he's still a good person. Romulus probably just got a little suspicious and dropped off and had a nightmare. That happens sometimes."

"Marcia," Marcellus replied, becoming a little agitated. "People do change and they don't always change for the better. I know you want to see the good in Septimus. I do too, after all, he was my apprentice once as well. But I cannot bear to think about what he put you through by leaving the Castle. I don't know if I can forgive him for that. I believe that if dreams repeat themselves, they have something of a meaning. I thought you believed that as well, Marcia. Please at least consider trying to find out what Septimus might be planning."

"Marcellus, for the last time, I don't think he's planning anything! I just think he wants to find Jenna. That's the only plan on his mind right now. Now, I'm tired. If you don't mind, I'd like to get some sleep. I don't want people to see me with dark circles under my eyes, they make me look older. I have to have some kind of energy. I am these people's leader after all."

Marcellus sighed. He could see he wasn't getting anywhere with her. If she wasn't going to watch out for herself, then he would just have to watch out for her. "Good night, Marcia." She whispered.

"Good night, Marcellus." She answered, stifling a yawn. Just as Marcia was about to fall asleep, Marcellus asked her another question. She was getting just a little annoyed.

"What?" she snapped. Marcellus was offended, but only a little. Long ago, he had come to know that Marcia's grumpiness was just part of her nature. She didn't mean it badly.

"Um, I was wondering if.." Marcellus trailed off. He wasn't sure he should ask Marcia what he was getting ready to ask her. It was a rather unusual question. He decided not to. "Never mind."

"No, tell me, Marcellus. I don't want to have put off my sleep for nothing. That would be utterly stupid."

Marcellus flushed a little. "Well, I just noticed that some of the women in the Castle have really tough looking husbands and I wondered if you would like it better if I had more muscles. Broda always wanted be to be stronger." Marcellus couldn't believe he just run his mouth like that. He saw Marcia flinch a little at the mention of Broda's name, but she answered his question.

"Absolutely not! I actually find men's muscles to be rather overrated. Marcellus, your lankiness is part of your body. If you put on muscles, you would be the laughing stock of the Castle. I can't have you looking that ridiculous. What _would_ people think?"

Marcellus smiled. He was glad Marcia didn't really care about his physical strength. He was rather hoping she wouldn't. He had not been looking forward to the many miserable hours it would take to get his body into good conditioning. Without thinking about it, Marcellus pulled Marcia closer to him, loving the feeling of her smooth, bare skin against his. Marcia eventually fell asleep in his arms, As soon as he was positive she was no longer conscious. He whispered quietly. "I promise I'm going to protect you. No matter what I have to do, I'll never leave you again." Then, he gently kissed her hair, and drifted off to sleep.

Back in Keeper's cottage, Zelda couldn't sleep at all. She still felt as though something was wrong even though the witches were gone and all had returned to normal. Zelda decided to get up and get a glass of water to calm the nerves that were now overwhelming her, but she couldn't explain why they were there.

On her way to the kitchen, she came heard a very odd sound coming from the twins' room. It sounded like one of the boys was crying, squealing almost. But they were ten years old now, much too old for squealing. Aunt Zelda went into the room to see if she could discover the problem.

When Zelda entered the room, she was horrified. There in the darkness stood one of the twin boys, it looked like Mike. He was taller than James was by an inch or so. Then when Aunt Zelda looked closer she realized that Mike was standing over James and a stream of blood was running James's abdomen. "Mike," began Aunt Zelda, "Oh Mike what happened?" It only took Zelda a moment to realize what a stupid question that was. She knew perfectly well what had happened. A better question was why did that happen, but she didn't expect that Mike would respond to her question. He was holding a small pocket knife in his hands, which Zelda had no idea where he had gotten and he whispered in a voice much older than that of a ten year old. "He got what was coming to him." Then, before Zelda could react. The boy evaporated into the air, leaving behind his poor twin sibling's corpse for Aunt Zelda to bury.

A few nights later, Merrin was standing in a park in the Castle, disguised as a worker. He had heard that Marcellus Pye often came here to take walks and Merrin was determined to get him out of the way before he moved onto Marcia. He had told Jenna he was taking a trip for a few days and she had seemed disappointed. Merrin wanted to return to her as soon as possible. He missed her very much as well. At last, Merrin saw what he had been looking for.

Marcellus had been walking along a rather quiet path in the park, contemplating things, when suddenly, a bullet shot right past his head and embedded itself in a tree behind him. He looked up, shocked. Before he could even react, another one shot past his head. Marcellus threw himself to the ground, rather afraid. At last, a third bullet came, this one was doubtlessly going to hit Marcellus. It was right on target. But just before it crashed into him, another body jumped in front of him and the bullet shot through this poor person's thigh, sending them crashing to the ground. In the distance, Marcellus heard a voice yell, "Damn it!" but there were no more bullets fired.

Quickly, Marcellus rushed to the side of his rescuer. To his amazement, he found himself looking into the eyes of his wife. She was dressed a pedestrian "Marcia!" he gasped, "Oh Marcia, my darling, what are you doing here? Oh help, my God!" Scarlet colored liquid was beginning to cover the ground as he said these words and he was horrified.

"Marcellus," said Marcia, feebly, "I had a dream last night, much like the one you said Romulus had. Only in my dream, you…you were killed because I let you take a walk alone in the park. I've told you before this place in dangerous. No one uses it. So today, when Romulus told me that you had come here, I couldn't believe it. I was paranoid. I'm so glad I came. You would have died, oh you would have died!" Marcia was delirious and every few seconds, she was gasping for breath. Losing blood wasn't doing her any good.

"Marcia, my dear Marcia, I've got to get you back to the Tower and fast. I can't believe you did this for me. I love you, I love you so much. I'll fins who did this and I'll kill him!"

Marcia smiled a little. "I bet you will." Marcellus pulled Marcia into his arms and hurried back to the Wizard Tower. They didn't have much time left.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. Lots of love for all of you. Okay, guys, I am going to get into some really…unusual pairings in this story starting in the next few chapters. I'm just giving you a heads up in case this offends anybody. When I saw unusual, I mean out of the ordinary. For example, on this site, Jenna/Septimus, Beetle/Jenna, Nicko/Snorri, Simon/Lucy, Marcellus/Marcia, Silas/Marcia, Jojo/Marissa, Silas/Sarah….you get the picture, right? Well, I am going to be defying the regular pairings because, let's face it, after writing two other multi-chapter Heap fics, I am getting tired of the "ordinary" couples. I gave you guys a taste of one of my wacked up couples, Jenna/Merrin, and you're all taking it really well. Sure, it's weird, but you're accepting it as part of the plot. Thanks so much for being supportive. This chapter is pretty dull. Iluvcatz saw one of the plot points coming from a mile away. (You're such a smart girl, Iluvcatz!) I promise after this chapter, all of you guys can expect the unexpected. This sets up unlucky chapter thirteen. You'll see why! This is for everyone who has read my stories since the first chapter of GP.

Chapter Twelve

Nicko Heap was awake. He knew that he really should try to settle down and sleep, after all, it was past midnight, but he just couldn't make himself relax. Every time he laid his head down on the pillow, images of the night Snorri died filled his mind. Nicko's grief was unbelievable. He hadn't realized just how much he had adored her until after she was gone. Even though she had deceived him in a disgusting, horrid way, he still loved her. In some ways, Nicko looked forward to the few hours he did sleep each night because in his dreams, Snorri was still alive and they were just as young and in love as they had been when they had first met, when Nicko had been merely fourteen. Nicko hated it that everyone in the Castle was treating him differently now. He knew people talked about him. "Oh did you hear? Nicko Heap lost his wife, isn't awful?" or "Aren't those witches wretched? They just took that Heap boy's wife from him, you know, the ex-ExtraOrdinary Wizard's brother?" That sort of thing was spreading around the Castle faster than the plague. Nicko shuddered. If any of those people had any idea what had really happened, they would no longer pity him. But of course, he was the only one who knew the real reason Snorri was dead. It was all because he hadn't been able to hold his temper. Nicko remembered the reason he had snapped that night, but now, it seemed stupid. Sure, he had every right to be angry, that was only natural, but he shouldn't have killed his wife. What had pushed Nicko over the edge that night had been this: Nicko had truly recognized the man's underwear he had found under his and Snorri's bed. It had belonged to Edd Heap, his brother who he happened to know, had betrayed the Castle and his family to the witches. Nicko didn't have a clue where Edd was now, but he had a feeling he might be up to no good. But Nicko had been unable to imagine his wife with his brother. The thought had been so repulsive to him, that in those split seconds, he had lost his head and taken his anger out on his wife. He hated himself for it now. Not only had he robbed himself of the pleasure of seeing Snorri every day, but he had also robbed his son of a mother.

Nicko wanted to talk to someone about his feelings but he didn't know who. At this point, he didn't really have anyone he trusted enough to tell the truth. Well, he could think of one person he wouldn't mind telling, but he wasn't even sure she was still alive. That person was Jenna. Nicko and Jenna had always been close because when they were growing up in the Ramblings, they were the closet in age. Nicko had always been there to protect Jenna when someone picked on her, or called her names and Jenna had supported Nicko in everything he ever tried. He knew that she would have supported him through this as well, and probably would have understood him very well. After all, Jenna had just lost her husband and her daughter. Nicko missed Jenna more and more all the time, but he was seriously beginning to doubt that she was alive. Septimus had spent all of this time searching for Jenna, but he had had no luck whatsoever. Nicko knew that, if Sep couldn't locate her, he would never be able to.

Thinking about Septimus made Nicko just a bit uncomfortable. He had seemed so crazy when he had come to Aunt Zelda's cottage and now, Marcia was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard again and nobody really knew why. The citizens of the Castle had made up a lot of theories, but not one person had the real answer. Nicko was starting to see something that he had never bothered to pay attention to before. Septimus's reason for his devotion was completely clear to Nicko now. That night in the marshes, Nicko had realized just how much Septimus loved Jenna. It wasn't the love a brother shares with his sister, but the love a man shares with his lover or wife. Although Nicko recognized this, it was still very queer to him. Septimus's love for Jenna almost offended him and he didn't know why. He put it down to the fact that he had had very little sleep recently and that he was a bit surprised that his brother was in love with a girl he had always seen as a sister. It couldn't possibly be any more than that, could it?

In the Marram Marshes, Aunt Zelda was distressed. She still couldn't believe that Mike had murdered James, they were only ten for God's sake! Why would a ten year old have any reason to finish his own brother so brutally? Zelda knew she probably shouldn't leave Keeper's Cottage unattended, but she didn't have a choice. She desperately wanted to find out what had over her darling nephew and caused him to do this thing. She had a feeling there was some **darke possession **involved. Aunt Zelda only knew one person who knew very much about **darke possession **and that was Marcia. Alther Mella, Marcia;s former tutor, had been trained by the **darke **necromancer, DomDaniel and so he had been able to teach Marcia very much about avoiding **darkeness.** And so, Aunt Zelda began making plans to drop in on the Pye family very soon.

Meanwhile, Marcia was recovering from her wounds. Marcellus had been able to use physik to heal her, but it hadn't been easy. She had lost a terrible amount of blood. It had horrified little Celesta, who unfortunately had had to see her father carry her mother into their sitting room. Celesta had begun to cry and she had run upstairs to get Romulus. When Romulus heard the news, he nearly threw up. This was it! This was his nightmare coming true. Marcia was going to die, he just knew it. But luckily for Romulus, his dream did not play itself out that day, even though he had very much expected it to do so.

Marcellus was still determined to find the man who had managed to hurt Marcia. He had hated seeing her go through such a close call. He didn't even want to think about what he would have had to tell his children if something bad had happened to her. Not to mention what he would have done if she had not survived. Marcia was like the glue that held the Pyes together, in Marcellus's opinion, and he couldn't think of living without her. She was such an important part of his life, the object of his affection. Even though he detested the fact the she had put herself in danger, Marcellus was actually flattered that Marcia had taken the bullet for him. It was a sign that she truly loved him. Sometimes with Marcia, it was hard to tell how much she really cared. He knew she did, but it was nice to see her "sweet" side every now and again. Marcellus liked this rare side of her. He knew Marcia liked to be in charge and she wasn't often emotional, but the occasional times she did reveal her weaknesses just made Marcellus love her even more. Marcellus knew he was going to have to watch her more carefully now. Someone obviously wanted to kill both him and her and he wanted to be ready for whoever this despicable waste was whenever they returned. Even though Marcellus knew Marcia was opposed to the idea, he was planning to build up his muscles, at least a little. Marcellus wanted to have a chance to win _at least _more than one fist fight.

Merrin had just returned to the Observatory after his unsuccessful attempt to assassinate Marcellus Pye. Instead, he had managed to shoot Marcia. Merrin groaned. It was just his luck that, when he finally got a chance to see the woman he was lusting after, he only wounded her. He had a feeling that her wound wouldn't be fatal. That scary husband of hers was a physician after all. But still, Merrin was frustrated. He was now desiring Marcia more and more every day, and seeing her had only made that desire worse. Now, he could barely concentrate on Jenna anymore and he had more or less given up trying to. All of his sketches changed from pictures of Jenna to depictions of Marcia, but he hid these. He still didn't object to sleeping with Jenna. It was better than sleeping with a corpse anyway.

Jenna had yet to notice Merrin's growing lack of interest in her. She slept with him almost every night, and he brought her more pleasure than Septimus and Beetle combined. She still cared for Delilah very much, but she thought about her less and less. Most of her thoughts now focused on Merrin. She was no longer bothered by living in the Observatory, so long as she could be with him. On the day Merrin returned, though, he was too tired to sleep with Jenna. Jenna tried to pretend she wasn't angry, but she couldn't quite manage. Merrin accused her of being an attention starved whore, and Jenna had wept bitterly, promising him she would never disappoint him again. That was their first fight. There would be many, many others in the coming month.

Outside Clarissa's manor many miles away, stood Septimus Heap. He was very tired and looking for a place of refuge for the night. He tried to open the door of the old house, expecting it to be empty, but to his amazement, the door moved to reveal a woman in her sixties, holding a toddler on her hip. Septimus would have known the toddler anywhere. "Delilah!" he exclaimed, reaching for the child. Then, turning to the woman, he asked, "Who are you? Why have you got my godchild?"

Clarissa snickered. "Aren't we the little Silas? Full of silly questions! Come in, come in, Septimus Heap, we have much to discuss."

"Wait, how do you know my father? And how do you know me?"

Clarrisa was becoming visibly annoyed. "Oh shut up already! Come in, I've already asked you once. I might decide to rethink my offer."

"I'm not sure I want to go in." Septimus replied in a snippy tone of voice that made Clarissa's blood boil, but she kept her cool. She knew she was going to need this Septimus boy soon and she wanted to be on decent terms with him.

"Well," she began, "I suppose you don't have to come inside, but it would be in your best interest if you did. I happen to know where a certain friend of yours is. A friend whom you've been dying to see." Clarissa dropped her voice to a lower octave and said, "Let me give you a hint, she resembles this child right here, very very much."

Septimus felt his pulse began to race. "Jenna!" he gasped, his heart filling with joy. She was alive, his sweet darling was alive. "Oh tell me where she is, ask for whatever you will. Oh, God, I will see Jenna again!" Septimus sounded crazy, but he didn't care, not one bit. Before Clarissa could stop him, Septimus pulled Delilah out of her grasp and swung her in his arms, kissing her on the cheeks as he did so. The child laughed with glee and Septimus pulled her close to him. Then he whispered, "Soon, you'll be mine, Delilah. I'm going to raise you because I'm going to marry Jenna. You'll have lots of siblings. We'll have a big family, you'll see." When he turned to face Clarissa, he said, "You're a saint! Thank you, may I have your name?"

"It's Clarissa." She snorted. She didn't really care what people thought of her anymore. "And I'm hardly a saints. Saints don't accomplish much as far as I'm concerned. Look, you're not getting your dear beloved Queen for free. First, you've got to help me. Can you do that?"

"Yes." answered Septimus without thinking. Jenna was worth everything. Clarissa nodded approvingly. This boy was more determined than his father had been.

"Good. I need your help clearing some very dangerous…terrorists out of the Castle. Corrupt leaders, you know the type I presume."

Septimus nodded. He knew only too well. "You are referring to our _ExtraOrdinary Wizard_?" Septimus's voice was angry and bitter.

Clarissa smiled and she said, "Ah! I see you are indeed a clever boy. Please, come, we have much to discuss." At last, Septimus began to feel a pang of regret. He was very upset with Marcia, but he didn't know if he was upset enough to finish her. Part of him still loved her and always would. There was a part of Septimus's soul that couldn't stop love Marcia. It was an involuntary feeling. But after a second, Septimus shook of these feelings of regret off and followed Clarissa inside. Jenna was worth anything and besides, Marcia had cheated him. She deserved to lose her life. Septimus wanted to show the world once and for all that no one makes a fool of Septimus Heap and gets away with it. It was Marcia's turn to pay for her mistake.


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: If I owned this, I'd be a rich girl. Hey, that reminds me of a Hall and Oats song! "You're a rich girl and you've gone too far…" Oh never mind.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who reviewed. Okay, everyone, please don't slice me after reading this chapter. There's a method to my madness, I assure you. Don't be angry, be patient. Stuff always works itself out, you know that.

Chapter Thirteen

Jenna was exhausted. At last, she had convinced Merrin to go to bed with her last night. It had not been easy, but she had managed it in the end. But to her dismay, it hadn't been nearly as fun as if had been the first few times. In fact, Jenna had some pretty nasty bruises on her body. Merrin had gotten rather frantic during the night. But Jenna didn't really care about bruises. What were bruises when you got to be loved with passion like the love Merrin showed her? Anything was worth that. Jenna couldn't tell what was bothering Merrin, but she desperately wanted him to tell her. But she was afraid to ask him. The first time she had asked the question, Merrin had lashed out and hit her in the face. At first, this had infuriated Jenna, but after a while, she began to believe that Merrin had been right for hitting her. After all, she had been getting into his personal affairs. Merrin did love her, he wouldn't hit her for no reason, Jenna was sure of that. Jenna couldn't understand why she had never seen the good in Merrin before this point in her life. Her love for Beetle made her feelings for Septimus and Beetle look like mere crushes. Jenna vowed to wait out whatever was bothering Merrin. He deserved her patience.

Aunt Zelda, too, was having to practice the art of patience, withthe added interest of fearing for her life. On her way to the Castle to speak with Marcia, she had been abducted by a strange group of necromancers. She automatically assumed they were the nomads she had always heard stories about. Initially, she couldn't figure out why they wanted her so badly, but once she saw who their second in command was, she no longer felt the need to ask questions. It was her nephew, Edd Heap. Zelda had had no idea that Edd was interested in necromancy, but this had been a rather petrifying way to find out. Not only was Edd involved, but apparently, her great great nephew, Mike, was involved as well. She now understood why he had murdered his own brother. It _was_** darke possession. **She could tell by the look in Mike's eyes. But why would Edd want to **possess **his nephew? What was the reason behind it? Zelda wasn't sure she wanted to know. She was dismayed. It seemed like all of her nephews were going bad and she hated it. That evening, even though she didn't want to, Aunt Zelda listened to the plans of the young necromancers. She was bound to a tree and could do nothing but lie there. And so, Aunt Zelda discovered that they were intending to attack the Castle. Of course this put dread into Aunt Zelda's heart, but not as much as it would have if the Castle was still lacking an ExtraOrdinary Wizard. At least with Marcia around, they wouldn't stand much of a chance. But still, Zelda desired to know what was wrong with her family. Why were all of Silas's sons coming out so wrong? Aunt Zelda knew she would never be able to answer that question. In the meantime, she had to try and get away from the young necromancers and warn Marcia, but she had a feeling that would be easier said than done.

Septimus was adjusting to life with Clarissa. She was teaching him some of the rules of **darkeness **and being a seventh son, he was catching on quickly. The thing he enjoyed most about living with Clarissa though, was that he got to be with Delilah whenever he wanted. Clarissa had more or less placed her in his care and Septimus loved it. His heart opened up for this child, and Septimus felt a kind of love he had not felt in a long time spill out of his soul. It inspired Septimus in some way he couldn't describe. As a result, Septimus did a very queer thing, something Merrin Meredith might have done, although Septimus had no way of knowing about Merrin's new hobby. Septimus did not pick up visual art, though. Instead, he turned to the piano.

It is a well known fact that seventh sons are very intelligent and Septimus's intelligence and talent did not stop with **magyk** as he was soon to discover. The manor he was living in had an old, beat up piano, but it was stilling playable. One night, after spending a delightful evening with Delilah, Septimus sat down and began to play. Softly at first, but then louder and more glorious. Even Clarissa, who was trying to sleep, was quite taken with the sound. It reminded her of love, an emotion she had not felt in years. It certainly wasn't an emotion she would admit to having ever experienced.

As Septimus played, his improvised piece became less and less about Delilah and more about something else in his soul. An aching feeling that had lived in him so long that was dying to escape. That night, while playing he found himself near tears a few times, but he couldn't explain why. By morning, he still had yet to discover what about playing the piece had made him so emotional. He didn't know if he would ever know. For some reason, he spent the rest of that day in something of a daze. He couldn't even concentrate on what Clarissa was telling him. Today, she was teaching him a very tricky killing curse, the one he would use to help Clarissa finish Marcia. On most days, Septimus wouldn't have thought much of this, but on this day, it made him a little sick at his stomach. He hated himself for feeling weak. He wasn't supposed to pity Marcia anymore.

Marcia felt much like her ex-apprentice. A very odd thing had occurred the previous night. Marcia had fallen asleep and heard the sounds of a strange, beautiful melody. When Marcia had awoken she hadn't wanted the melody to end. She actually felt optimistic for most of the day, she was in fact, so chipper than Marcellus had to ask her a few times, "Marcia, are you sure you're okay? There's not anything…wrong with you, is there?" Unfortunately, Marcia's happy few hours came to an abrupt end, courtesy of Clarissa Demarte and Septimus Heap.

Clarissa had come to an odd conclusion. She saw Septimus's piano playing as a sign. It had reminded her of her happy years with her master and now, she was positive that time had come to attack the Castle. DomDaniel had always wanted that Septimus Heap boy to be his apprentice and now he was practically Clarissa's apprentice. Clarissa grinned, her master would be proud. Clarissa decided not to tell Merrin that they were attacking. She didn't need his help and most likely, he would just screw things up for her. She doubted he would be very enthusiastic about killing Marcia after the spell she had put on him.

Clarissa enchanted the manor before they left. She didn't want to risk losing Delilah, especially when they still needed her to blackmail a few people. He had learned her lesson with her darling Clifford. Cliff was still something that bothered Clarissa at least a little every day. She knew that both Marcia and Septimus had been involved in his death. Even though Septimus had been easier to deal with than she had previously imagined he would be, she still had every intention of killing him when this was all over. There could not be two ExtraOrdinary Wizards.

Septimus joined Clarissa on the journey to the Castle, his heart full of a dread he couldn't explain verbally. He had had a hard time leaving Delilah that morning. Just recently, she had begun to call him "Daddy" which thrilled him, but it had also given him a surprising pang of sadness for Beetle, whom Delilah had doubtlessly forgotten about. She was only three.

Clarissa broke into his deep thoughts. "Remember what I've told you, Septimus, don't attack until you know you've got them. This will be quick. We're just going into the Tower to finish off Marcia's family. But leave her to me. I have a personal score to settle with her."

Septimus nodded. After thinking about it, he wasn't sure he wanted to be the one to kill Marcia after all. But he didn't know if he could kill Romulus either. Septimus shook himself, "Stop being a ninny!" he scolded sternly. "I am the seventh son of the seventh son. I shouldn't be afraid of anything. I shouldn't show any emotion. Leaders never show their feelings." But then Septimus remembered who had told him that, and he felt pain all over again.

It was late when they finally arrived at the Wizard Tower. Septimus remembered the password and he and Clarissa entered with no problem. As Clarissa walked into the Hall of the Wizard Tower, her face illuminated with a fanatical glow. She was obviously excited. Septimus had not figured Clarissa out yet. He still didn't know why she hated Marcia so much, but he wasn't about to ask. Clarissa was a touchy person.

Marcia sensed the **darkeness** before Septimus and Clarissa had finished coming up the stairs. Gently, she shook Marcellus awake. "Marcellus," she whispered anxiously, "Marcellus, get up."

Marcellus had been in the middle of a very pleasant dream when his wife's voice abruptly brought him out of it. "Marcellus," she repeated, "Go into the children's room and wake them." Marcellus was still groggy. "You heard what I said, hurry up, will you?"

"Marcia, why what's going on?"

"There's a **darkeness **coming from the hallway. It's not safe here."

Marcellus looked certain. "I'm not leaving you again. I don't care what you say. **Charmlock** the children into their room, I'm staying with you."

Marcia didn't have time to argue. "All right, all right, but if anything happens.." Marcia was interrupted by a loud banging on the door.

In the Observatory, Jenna had just awoken to find Merrin gone. She had searched the whole place for him, calling his name, but there was no response. Jenna was horrified. Where had Merrin gone? What had become of him? And now, that she was alone with the **things,** what would become of her?

Jenna didn't have much time to think about the last question. A voice from behind her said, "Oh poor lonely Queen has lost her lover! But don't worry, I am a worthy replacement." Jenna turned around as quickly as she could. There standing before her, was the nastiest looking **thing **she had ever seen. Jenna screamed and tried to run, but the **thing** was faster. Within seconds, It had pushed her to the bed and was holding her down firmly. Jenna began to sob, "Merrin! Merrin!" but there was no answer. Merrin was gone.

Nicko was lying in his bed when he heard the sound of a woman crying, just as he had all those years ago when that bastard Merrin had been moving onto Jenna. Nicko followed the sound, determined to find where it was coming from. To his amazement, it seemed to be coming from Snorri's old glass in the sitting room. At first, Nicko was horrified. It must be Snorri's ghost! Who else would it be? But then, as he listened more closely to the cries, he realized that they were the same as the cries he had heard all those years ago. He didn't know how it was possible but he was sure the cries were Jenna's. Slowly, Nicko began to approach the mirror. When he placed his hand on it, it slipped through the glass, just as it had a little over a decade ago. Nicko knew what he had to do. Jenna was in trouble and he was going to help her, no matter what it took.

Back in the Wizard Tower, Romulus heard the sound of the door to his room being barred. Celesta heard it as well. After a moment, she whispered into the darkness, "Romulus, what's going on?" Then, when he didn't answer, she said, "I'm frightened."

Romulus walked over to his sister's bed, and took her into his arms. "Hey, it's okay, it's all right, I'm here. " But even as he spoke these words, Romulus was afraid. He knew his mother wouldn't **charmlock **the door unless something really serious was going on. Romulus hated to think about what that might be. He and Celesta sat perfectly still and quiet. Then , to his dismay, Romulus heard a voice he recognized very well. "Septimus!" he muttered. So it really was happening. Septimus was coming to hurt his family. He couldn't believe it.

Celesta smiled. "Septimus is a friend, right? Romulus, why is Mummy worried about Septimus?"

Suddenly, before Romulus could answer her, there was a loud crack, doubtlessly the sound of a **thunderflash **and a the sound of a body hitting the floor could be heard. The next voice that cried out was Marcia's, and it was a cry of pain, but not physically pain, emotional pain. The kind of pain a person gets when they believe they have been robbed of a person they love dearly. "Mum!" gasped Romulus, "She's going to be hurt." As soon as he said these words, he wished he hadn't. He could feel his sister trembling violently in his arms.

"But Mummy can't die, can she?" Celesta's eyes were welling, "And what about Daddy, I want Daddy!"

Romulus fought the urge to vomit. His sister's innocence was making it even harder to deal with the situation. Just then, another voice from the room was heard, the voice was that of a woman. "Septimus!" the voice roared, "I'll take care of her. You know what you have to do."

Marcia's voice responded to this woman's remark by addressing Septimus. Romulus was now more nervous than he had been all night. Marcia's voice was pleading with Septimus. That meant she was desperate. That meant she was losing. "Septimus, Septimus, please, I don't want this. I know you don't want it either. Look, if you want to kill someone this badly, kill me. Help Clarissa finish me. I'll just stand there if you want, but please, please don't harm my children. They're innocent, they never did anything to wrong you. Please." For a moment, there was silence. Then, Romulus heard Septimus mutter a **darke **incantation to override Marcia's **charmlock**. But before Marcia could do anything to stop Septimus from entering the children's room, Clarissa was once again dueling with her. Marcia felt horribly sick. She would be unable to help her children. After what had already happened to Marcellus, she didn't think she could live through anymore. As she was dueling Clarissa, Marcia was distracted by the sounds of her children's screams in the next room. After a moment, she couldn't take it any longer. She didn't care that she was dueling Clarissa, she was going to try and go help her children. She couldn't bear it anymore.

Just as she started to leave the room, Clarissa **stunned **her, causing pain to shoot through her whole body. She realized grimly that she was going to have to finish Clarissa before she did anything else. She heard Celesta scream, "Mummy, help me!" from down the hall. All of a sudden, Marcia didn't care that she was in front of Clarissa. She began to sob. Her children were dying! What a nightmare this evening had turned out to be.

Clarissa snickered. "Oh poor dear Marcia!" she said mockingly. "You must be so frightened! How does it feel, knowing you're going to die?"

Marcia couldn't take anymore of Clarissa. She mustered the last of her strength and fired a **thunderflash** at Clarissa. Clarissa screamed in pain, but Marcia knew the **thunderflash** hadn't been strong enough to kill Clarissa. She didn't have that kind of strength left.

Luckily for Marcia, she had just managed to hurt Clarissa enough to make her want to give up the fight. She too was growing weaker and her body wasn't as young as Marcia's. She knew that before long, Marcia would defeat her. She whistled for Septimus, and then she evaporated, right in front of Marcia.

Marcia immediately rushed into her children's room. There in the middle of the floor, lay Romulus. Marcia rushed to him and pulled him into her arms. "Romulus, oh Romulus!' she felt for a pulse. To her immense delight, he was still alive. He seemed unharmed. She concluded that Septimus must have used a massive stun on him, which had caused him to pass out.

Marcia was so busy clutching Romulus to her chest and kissing his forehead that she didn't hear Marcellus come into the room from behind her. When he reached her, he knelt down and pulled both her and their young son into his arms. "Marcellus," she exclaimed, "Marcellus! You're alive, but how?"

"Septimus's **thunderflash** missed me, but it was powerful enough to knock me off my feet. I hit my head and lost consciousness. I don't remember anything else. But I'm so glad you're safe!" He leaned in to kiss Marcia, and then said, "but what's happened to Romulus? And where's my Celesta?"

For the first time, Marcia glanced around the room. To her absolute horror, it was covered in blood. She and Marcellus glanced at each other and then, without saying anything, each understood what event had just taken place. Marcia began weeping uncontrollably and Marcellus her against him, crying quite a bit himself. At last, Marcia said, "I'll find Septimus. I'll find him and I'll kill him!" Marcia was hysterical. For those few moments, she was no longer fearless Marcia Overstrand Pye, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. She was simply another, grieving mother who was desperate to avenge her child's memory in any way she could.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I have a confession to make…I am not Angie Sage

Author's Note: Thanks to all who read and reviewed my last chapter. This chapter gets really…weird for lack of a better term. Wonky? Is that a good term? Bear with me everyone. I want you all to know that some of your lists are really close. In fact, one of you is so close it's making me freak out a little. We're not even half way finished yet and you've already got such a close idea. But don't get me wrong, you're all close. I have a feeling I may be writing a few oneshots….

Chapter Fourteen

When Nicko entered the glass, he came out into a huge airy bedroom, filled with art of all sorts of art. But Nicko was so distracted by the noise coming from the bed that he hardly noticed the artwork all around him. There, on the bed, was Jenna, practically being raped by a **thing. **Nicko didn't know what to do. Now, that he had finally found his sister, he was going to have to sit there and watch her suffer. Unless…..

Nicko thought quickly. He still remembered an anti-**darke** spell Silas had taught him years ago, when he had been a mere child. Nicko had never considered himself much of a Wizard, so he had never really practiced the spell, but he still knew how it went. And he had a feeling that an anti-**darke **spell was just the thing to get rid of a horrid **darke **creature like this. Quietly, Nicko muttered the incantation and with a pop, the **thing **was gone. Nicko smiled proudly. He had managed it! Jenna was safe.

When Jenna caught sight of Nicko, she smiled, seeming to forget her nakedness. "Nicko," she exclaimed, "Oh Nicko!" Even though she adored Merrin, she still couldn't help but experience a sense of powerful relief when she saw her adoptive brother.

"I'm so glad to see you!" she said, leaping of the bed and rushing toward him. Nicko was thrilled to see that Jenna was all right, but he couldn't believe she wasn't bothering to cover her naked body before she ran to him. Nicko put it down to the fact that she was still shaken by the events that had just occurred in her life. Nicko glanced around the Observatory room. He couldn't imagine anything good happening to her here.

As Jenna approached him, Nicko took in every inch of her body without even meaning to. He had to admit, she was very beautiful. Her skin was a lovely cream color and Nicko couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to touch it. He attempted to pull himself out of his reverie. "This is wrong!" he told himself, "She's your sister!" But as Jenna came forward and threw her lovely body into his arms, his common sense was forgotten again. He held her to his body tightly. After a few moments, he said awkwardly, "Hi Jen, I..I'm so glad you're okay. What are you doing here? What is this place? You won't believe how I got here, I've just got so much to tell you."

Jenna pressed her finger to Nicko's lips. "Shh!" Nicko, I don't want to hear it right now." She paused and then she repeated those same, sweet words she had spoken to Septimus nine years earlier in the Marram Marshes. "I don't really want to communicate in words right now. They only complicate things. They can be so empty, so pointless. I want to show you how grateful I am to you, if you'll let me. Words are not enough, Nicko, not anymore." Jenna's mind was working fast. Merrin had obviously grown tired of her, and Jenna was beginning to see that it was not Merrin's love she truly prized. It was love in general. She had a feeling that, if he would agree to her proposal, she and Nicko could have quite a good time together. After all, she did know him well and love him very much. The only thing about leaving Merrin was that, without him, she would be less likely to see Delilah again. But Jenna was starting to doubt that Merrin had even had her daughter to begin with. If he had, wouldn't he have returned Delilah to her by now?

While Jenna was contemplating her options, Nicko was speechless. He understood by Jenna's words and mannerisms exactly what she wanted from him. But Nicko knew that he couldn't provide her with her desire. He couldn't sleep with Jenna, no matter how badly his body was urging him to. Unfortunately, his body was indeed urging him. He wanted to feel her soft skin in his hands, to hold her, to kiss her lips, but he knew this was an impossibility. Nicko knew it was wrong, but he missed the presence of a lover in his life. But Jenna couldn't be this next lover. She was his sister, for God's sake! Why was he even letting himself think like this? Nicko tried to make himself imagine the sweet quiet little girl version of Jenna that he had grown up with before she even knew she was the Princess of the Castle. Before she changed. But he was completely unsuccessful in his attempt to remember the child Jenna. The only Jenna knew anymore was this sweet, angelic seductress whom he could no longer see as a sibling.

At last Nicko managed to shake himself. He thought about Theo. What would Theo say if he found out his father was fooling with his Aunt Jenna? Nicko knew it would bother him and Theo didn't need to be bothered anymore. He had already seen enough. Nicko made his decision. He wasn't going to give into temptation. His son deserved better than that.

"Jenna," he whispered, "Get your clothes on and let's get out of here. I came through the glass, you can follow me out."

Jenna saw that Nicko wasn't going to give into her commands and she was furious. "No, Nicko, I don't think I will follow you. But not agreeing to what I have asked of you, you are refusing your Queen. I always thought you had more sense."

"Jenna, with all due respect, I cannot agree to what you have asked of me. Besides, what kind of Queen are you being if you stay here? The people of the Castle need you Jen, come on, let's go."

Jenna didn't answer. Finally Nicko had to go over to her and pull her toward the glass. She fought him the whole way, kicking and punching at him, but to no avail. Nicko was stronger. He managed to get her all the way to the glass, when Jenna stopped struggling. Instead, she leaned up and kissed him on his cheek. Nicko tried to ignore the urge to kiss her back. He was becoming a little afraid of his feelings. What was happening?

"You liked that." She said, sounding completely confident. Nicko didn't answer.

"Come on, Jenna." He said, ignoring her last comment. But when he tried to put his hand through the glass, he found, to his dismay, that it was solid as a rock. "Damn." he muttered, "Damn, Jen, we're trapped."

Meanwhile, Septimus was back with Clarissa in the manor. Septimus was actually rather happy, though he wouldn't admit it to Clarissa. He had managed to make off with Marcia's daughter, Celesta, and now, he had both her and Delilah to entertain him. What excited him most was that they were each carbon copies of their respective mothers. Of course, he was supposed to hate Marcia, he knew this. But gazing at Celesta made him loose almost all hope of ever being able to despise his ex mentor. When he had kidnapped Celesta, he had first knocked out Romulus to make sure he didn't see anything and then, he had taken the corpse of a dog Clarissa had murdered that morning and carried out exactly what Clarissa had asked of him. It had never been Clarissa's intention to kill Celesta. She wanted to hold Celesta hostage. Clarissa had known that keeping Celesta captive was a sure way to threaten Marcia. Clarissa had had every intention of killing Marcia that night in the Tower, but she had had Septimus take Celesta, just to be safe. For the moment though, Clarissa wanted Marcia to think her daughter was dead, which was the purpose of spreading the dog's blood. Clarissa still needed time to plan her next move.

Septimus was enjoying Celesta's company. He could tell that Celesta wasn't entirely enjoying his though. She was old enough to really know what it felt like to miss her parents and her brother and she missed them more and more every day. Each night, she cried for them. But even in her sadness, there was something about Celesta that inspired Septimus and he began to write even more music. One night, he composed a complete tune in Celesta's honor. Then, a very odd thing occurred.

Celesta could hear the melody coming from her bedroom, and she actually came out to see where in was coming from. She recognized it well. Her mother had a music box which played the same melody and Celesta was very fond of it. She came into the room where Septimus was playing and said, "That's Mummy's song." Septimus, who had not expected Celesta to still be awake, was startled.

"How so, Celesta?" he asked, "How is it your mother's tune? I have just created it myself."

"No, I'm sure it's Mummy's song, I've heard it. She used to play lots and lots." There was something so self assured, so positive in the way Celesta spoke that it reminded Septimus very much of Marcia. He looked into Celesta's face and for a moment, he could see only the little girl's mother and not the little girl herself. Septimus's heart felt heavy in a way he couldn't really explain. He was pretty sure Celesta wouldn't just lie to him. But he couldn't help but wonder, how was he able to play a melody that already existed when he himself had never heard it?

Hours later, long after Septimus had convinced Celesta to return to her bedroom, Septimus was still wondering why he had known that tune so well. When he at last fell asleep, he could hear the music in his dreams, like a sweet lullaby. When he awoke, he came to a conclusion. He was going to have to see Marcia.

Marcia was starring out of her window. All of her energy was gone. Every few moments, she would imagine Celesta running through the door, bringing her something she had made for her. Marcia didn't know how she was going to move on without her daughter. She partly blamed herself for Celesta's death. If she had been more careful, maybe Celesta wouldn't have been killed. But what was almost as hard as living with Celesta's death was living with Septimus's betrayal of her. Never in her wildest dreams had Marcia ever imagined that Septimus would actually do something as atrocious as killing her child. She knew he had not been quite right lately, but she had never even started to think that it would come to this. Thinking of how he had deceived her and managed to take one of the few things from her that really mattered made Marcia's blood boil. Septimus was also managing to embarrass her in public places without even knowing he was doing it. About a week earlier, when Marcia had had to make a speech in front of the Castle, she had been unable to concentrate and had nearly broken down from the pressure of all the emotional stress that was taking her over. Marcia had _never _cried in front of the people of the Castle, and it actually scared them a little. Only the women with children were able to understand why their ExtraOrdinary Wizard was having such a difficult time.

Marcellus had been very, very dejected the past few weeks as well. He had adored everything about his tiny daughter. She was so like Marcia in appearance, but for the most part, her mannerisms had been like his. He had loved to play with Celesta, to make her happy in any way he could. After living for over five hundred and twenty years, Marcellus had finally found true happiness with his family. But, he should have known it was all too good to last. It usually was. Marcellus too, was shocked that Septimus had been the one to take little Celesta's life. Marcellus had once trusted Septimus more than anyone else and now, Septimus had turned around and stabbed him in the back in the worst possible way.

One day, not long after Celesta disappeared, Marcellus told Marcia he was going pick up a new pair of shoes from Terry Tarsal's shop and he was taking Romulus with him. It would do Romulus some good to get some fresh air. Romulus had been looking incredibly peaked since the death of his sister and Marcellus wanted to get him out and about again. He was rather hoping it would help both of them. Marcia had to stay in the Wizard Tower to work on a few things. About thirty minutes after Marcellus left, there was a knock on the door. Marcia was perplexed. There was no way Marcellus could have come back so quickly.

"Open." Marcia commanded the door and to her amazement, Celesta ran into the room as fast as she could. "Mummy!" she exclaimed.

Marcia thought she was seeing things. "Celesta? Oh..Oh my God!" she knelt down and swept the little girl into her arms. "Oh my darling! How did you get here? How are you- Oh it doesn't matter! You're alive." Celesta buried her face in Marcia's bosom and for a moment, neither of them spoke. Marcia kissed Celesta on her head and whispered, "I missed you so much, I was so worried. I love you, Celesta, I'll never let anything happen to you again."

Celesta then said the words Marcia had been dying to hear for three weeks, "I love you too, Mummy."

At that moment, Septimus walked into the room. Marcia's expression clouded. "How dare you show your face in here? Get out, or do I have to make you get out? You're not welcome here any longer."

Septimus was practical and calm. "Marcia, please, listen to what I have to say. Obviously, I didn't kill your daughter, I couldn't do that, not when she's so much like you. Clarissa killed a dog that morning and I spilt its blood all across the room because Clarissa told me to make it look like I had murdered your child. But thought you knew me well enough to now I would never, ever do something like that. Marcia, I was angry. I wanted to find Jenna and I still do, but I was angry with you for taking the amulet back. I didn't think you understood what it was like to love someone as much as I loved Jenna. I still love her, but my feelings have gotten more complicated."

Marcia was agitated. "I don't speak in riddles, Septimus Heap, say what you have to say."

Septimus took a deep breath. "I have been living with Clarissa Demarte for three months in an old abandoned manor outside the Castle. Before I showed up, she had been keeping Delilah, you know, Jenna's daughter, there was a prisoner. I have taken her away with me too. Clarissa said she knew where Jenna was, and that was what lead me to stay with her. But now, I am no longer sure I believe her. I think she was trying to use me. I have left Delilah at my mother's house, but I cannot be separated from her. She thinks of me as a father, I love her. I began writing music while I was living with Clarissa. I don't know what led me to do it, but somehow, the music just kept playing in my head and I wrote it down. Eventually, I played a melody that your daughter recognized. She said you have a music box that plays it. I'd like to hear it."

Marcia was still a bit dubious. But at least Septimus wasn't being quite as odd now. "All right, all right, Septimus." she said, "but let me get Celesta down first. She needs a nap. " The child had was already nearly asleep in Marcia's arms.

When Marcia returned, she was holding a small golden box which she handed to Septimus. Septimus took it and Marcia said, "Open it, it doesn't bite." Carefully, Septimus lifted the top.

It was indeed the same melody, Celesta's words had been the truth. Septimus suddenly realized what this meant. "Marcia," he said hoarsely, "you're it."

"What do you mean?" Marcia snapped. She hated being confused.

"All this time that I've been chasing Jenna, longing for her, desiring her, I've never really realized that what I love most has been here all the time. I love you, Marcia. I know I've said it before, but I want you to know that I never stopped. But Marcia, I'm here because I no longer know the nature of my love for you. I think I love you more than I have ever loved anyone. I fooled myself with my obsession with Jenna. But Marcia, I'm an adult now. I'm adult man. I want you in a new way now. I know you'll say, there's the age gap, it's wrong. Bu before you do, let me point out that you and Marcellus are hundreds of years apart. But he could never love you as I have come to realize I love you in these past few months. Marcia, if I cannot be your lover, at least let me be your friend, your adviser. I will never hurt you again. If it hurts you to split with Marcellus, then I do not ask it of you. But you see, people would not find us an odd couple. Why is appearance, I look as old as you now. Think of it, we could give the position of ExtraOrdinary to someone else and we could run away together. I would make you so happy. I have said too much, haven't I? You think me mad?"

Marcia sat down on her sofa. Her stomach was churning. She couldn't speak. Septimus loved her, then? Marcia thought she might choke. Of course, she loved Septimus, but not in the manner he was implying her loved her. "Septimus," she said, "Listen, I will always love you, but I must ask are you crazy? I cannot leave these people to fend for themselves, there is no other suitable ExtraOrdinary in the Castle right now. I must stay."

"I will wait." Septimus replied, passionately.

"Septimus, it's not a matter of waiting. I love Marcellus, I can't leave him. Please try to understand."

Septimus's eyes became dark and then he said, "Then you do not see the signs? This is meant to happen, but you cannot see it. Marcia, I'm closer to you than I am to anyone else. How can I not love a person with whom I have shared so many personal experiences?"

Marcia decided to take charge. "Septimus, you're being ridiculous. In a few hours, you'll realize you don't love me like that. You just feel guilty because you treated my family badly. I forgive you. You did not kill my child. And-"

Septimus didn't want to listen to anymore. Quickly, he grabbed Marcia around her waist and pressed his lips to hers. Marcia's lips trembled, but she was too shocked to struggle. Septimus didn't let her go. Very shortly though, Septimus's moment of pleasure was interrupted by the sound of Marcellus Pye returning home, just in time to see Septimus Heap kissing his wife on the lips.

**AN-Ok, everyone, let's all clap our hands really slow for Sep. He's not exactly normal anymore, is he?**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

As Nicko was struggling with the glass, Jenna heard footsteps walking up the stairs. "Nicko!" she gasped, "Nicko, hide, quickly. He's coming!"

Nicko was puzzled. "Who's coming?"

"Just hide, Nicko!" barked Jenna, her patience fading fast. But just as Nicko was about to obey her, the door knob turned and Merrin Meredith entered the room.

"Merrin, sweetheart, you're home." Jenna trilled nervously. Merrin gave her a menacing look.

"Where the hell are your clothes, you little whore? And what in God's name is he doing here?" Jenna was shocked and hurt. Merrin had never spoken to her like this. Nicko wasn't going to tolerate it.

"She's my sister, you stupid bastard and I am here to take her away with me. I ought to kill you first though. You've got no right to speak to her like that, none whatsoever." Nicko was furious and read to harm Merrin, but Merrin was not afraid. As long as he had DomDaniel's two faced ring, he would be safe, he knew it.

"Just try to defeat me, I'll be you can't." Then, turning to Jenna, he said, "I'll deal with you after this."

Jenna's eyes lit up with fear. She didn't want to be beaten, not again. "Merrin, I promise, I didn't sleep with Nicko. I wouldn't do that to you."

Nicko paused, the truth beginning to dawn on him. "Jenna, are you..involved with this son of a bitch?"

Jenna had to think fast. She knew that if she denied her relationship with Merrin, Merrin would hate her forever, but if she admitted it, she would lose Nicko's respect for her. In the end, she knew who she loved more. "Yes, Nicko, Merrin is my lover. I adore him. Merrin, I would never be untrue to you, you know that."

"Oh yeah, then why are you with him buck naked like a little slut?"

Jenna was silent again for a moment. She had a feeling there could be only one explanation to why she was in a bedroom with Nicko naked. She was going to have to place the blame on either herself or her adopted brother and she wasn't about to get herself into any more trouble. At last, she raised her eyes and said, "Merrin, I am going to be completely honest with you and you are going to have to believe me. Nicko came in here through the glass. Once he came inside, I greeted him because he is my brother and I haven't seen him in ages. But then, he started moving onto me, saying he wanted more from me. I tried to push him away, but he kept coming. Eventually, he managed to get all of my clothes off. Merrin, I want to forgive him because he's my brother, but I'm not sure I can. He tried to rape me, Merrin. Take him and do what you want with him. I don't care."

Nicko was stupefied. "Jenna, Jen, you can't be serious! If anything, you were moving onto me! What are you talking about? What's come over you? I hardly recognize you. I would never try and rape you! I would never rape anyone! What is the matter with you?"

Jenna crossed her arms across her chest and shouted, "See Merrin, see how he lies? Take out of my sight this instant!" Then she said, "Nicko, I thought you were better than this."

Nicko wondered when Jenna had learned to lie so well. Or better yet, what had driven Jenna to begin an affair with Merrin Meredith. It was all too disgusting and queer for words. Two faced ring or not, Nicko decided he was going to fight Merrin with all the strength he had and then he would ask Jenna why in the world she was doing this. She was Jenna, the girl he had always been close to, a sister of sorts. He loved her. Nicko was tired of being cheated by people he loved.

But rather than attacking Nicko straight off the bat, Merrin whistled and right on cue, six **things **arrived on the stairs. Merrin turned to them and said, "My good followers, get him." Nicko didn't have time to react. Within seconds, the **things** were upon him.

Clarissa Demarte was in a terrible mood. She had just discovered that Septimus Heap had not only abandoned her cause, but he had also snuck out in the middle of the night and taken both of the children with him. Those children had been Clarissa's plan to get control of the Castle and now, everything was falling apart. Maybe her master had been right, maybe she was a failure. A stupid, lousy no good failure, that was what DomDaniel had called her, wasn't it? Well, Clarissa was still determined to prove him wrong. The night she discovered Septimus was gone, she began trying to find ways to conserve all of the power she could. She knew that she could no longer waste her powers on little things like manipulating people. She would need all of her strength to take the Castle alone, and she most likely still wouldn't be able to accomplish this goal. So that evening, she **removed **the curse she had placed on Merrin Meredith. He would no longer be interested in Marcia Pye, which was probably a good thing. As it was looking now, Clarissa might actually need Merrin's help and it certainly would help if Merrin was not interested in Marcia romantically. Clarissa sighed. This was going to be hard, but not impossible. She could manage.

Sarah Tarsal was watching over her daughter's baby, Delilah. She only wished Jenna were there to see her child now. Delilah looked so healthy and happy that Sarah couldn't help but smile when she saw her. She knew Septimus had been going through a rough time recently, but he had certainly done a good job of taking care of Delilah. Seeing Delilah made Sarah miss Jenna in a way she couldn't explain. Delilah was so like Jenna. Her mannerisms, the way she carried herself, the way she smiled and laughed, all of these things reminded Sarah very much of her daughter. And thinking of her daughter made Sarah think about Silas. Even though she had married Terry, Silas was never far from Sarah's mind. She still loved him in a very passionate way. She couldn't understand why he had never **appeared **to her though. Surely, he had cared enough to at least do that. Sarah sometimes wondered if Silas had ever really loved her. No, he had probably loved that horrid Marcia. God, Marcia got everything she ever wanted and she wasn't even a nice person! Sarah just couldn't bear it. Sometimes, she wanted to kill Marcia. She has had a few dreams about doing it that had brought her immense pleasure. But she would always awake from these types of dreams feeling guilty. She knew it was wrong to want to kill or even harm others, but occasionally, Sarah let herself dream anyway. One of her biggest dreams had begun with Silas and Marcia in bed together and had ended with her stabbing Marcia to death right in front of Silas. What she had loved was, for those few moments in her dream, even though she was getting the attention for the wrong reasons, she was still getting Silas's attention. Sarah wondered if maybe harming Marcia in some way would make Silas **appear **to her. Maybe it was worth a shot…

Marcellus had just walked into the sitting room. His son, Romulus, was right on his tail. When he saw Septimus with his wife, he blurted, "What in God's name is going on in here?" Then, turning to Marcia, he said, "Why?" Marcia's heart stung when she heard that simple word, it said nothing and yet it said everything. When he asked this small question, Marcia could see the pain in his eyes, a pain that only comes when a person feels cheated.

"Marcellus, please-" started Marcia, but Septimus cut her off.

"Look Marcellus, don't freak out. Celesta's all right, she's in her bedroom. Marcia can tell you about what happened later. But Marcellus, honestly, I'm not hurting your wife. I lived with her for seven years of my life and I think I should get to show her…a little affection now and again."

Marcellus was stern. "Affection is one thing, Septimus, but kissing Marcia like that is a total disrespect for both Marcia and for me. Septimus, I believe I have no choice but to deal with you personally."

At this Septimus laughed out loud, "You deal with me? Marcellus, be reasonable. I'll kill you in a fight, we both know that. Why waste your time? I didn't hurt Celesta, can't you be happy?"

Marcia was exasperated. "You're both acting like children! Septimus, get out of here now, you're only making things worse. Marcellus, I'm going to talk with you. But there will be no fighting in here, not now, not ever. Am I clear?"

For once, both of these men ignored Marcia entirely. "This is a man's fight." Marcellus announced. "You can't use your **magyk **to get you out of this Septimus. I want to see what you're made of."

Septimus annoyed. "Not use **magyk?** But that's hardly fair, Marcellus. Just because I have developed more skills than you doesn't mean I should have to lower myself to your level."

"Well, then, you've got two choices, you can fight me like a man, or you can get out of the room." Marcia had never seen Marcellus so angry. She was rather embarrassed. But before she could try to stop them again, Septimus shouted, "It's a deal!" and charged at Marcellus. Marcellus was ready for him and managed to land a few powerful punches into him. Romulus looked on amazed. He had never in his wildest dreams imagined that his father would be able to do something like that.

Marcia was horrified. When she saw her son's amazed expression he snapped, "Romulus, please don't ever do what your father is doing. It is very unbecoming. Fighting never solves anything. I've got to try and stop these fools from killing each other."

Eventually, Marcia managed to work up enough **magyk **to **intervene **in the fight and break it up, but not before Septimus had acquired a bruised lip and bruised eyes. He didn't want to admit it, but Marcellus was tough. But he would get him. Septimus intended to kill Marcellus for this. He had finally discovered just how much he loved Marcia and he wasn't about to let Marcellus Pye stand in his way of getting her.

"I'll be back." Septimus vowed, turning to face Marcellus, "And you will be very, very sorry." With those words, Septimus vanished, leaving only traces of a purple haze behind him.

Once he was gone, Marcia turned to Marcellus and was just about to tell him off about his behavior when she noticed how sad, how shocked his eyes looked. Marcia couldn't say anything. She knew it was going to take a while to get her husband to trust her again.

**AN-Short, I know but it sets up the next one, I promise. Stick with me. But I do have to say, the next chapter has got less relationships and more violence. But everything evens out in the wash. I have to please everyone.**


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: Amazingly enough, I don't own this stuff.

Author's Note: Thanks to all of you guys for your great reviews. I have a big announcement. Unfortunately, it's a big, bad announcement. Promise you won't kill me. It's the last "shocker" I have. I am going to say that, sadly, in order for this story to work, I am going to have to kill off a few of the last five people who were supposed to live. Yeah, I know, that's not nice, but sometimes it works out that way. Last night, I had a revelation. I was thinking about this story and the idea for a perfect ending to it popped into my head. It is not often that an excellent idea pops into my head and I want to carry this one out. But that does require me to finish off some more of my characters than I originally planned to spare. By the beginning of the next chapter, I will give you a new number of how many cannon characters will live and you can start new lists. Sorry about this. My estimate right now would be that three cannons are going to survive, but again, that's not final. Anyway, on with the new chapter. You guys have to love me for releasing this one. I had very little time to use my laptop today. Also my brother has spent the entire day driving me nuts.

Chapter Sixteen

When the **things **jumped upon Nicko and began to beat him, it didn't take him long to lose consciousness. When he awoke, hours later it seemed, he was surprised to find that he was still alive. He had suspected that the **things **would finish him, but he was certainly glad they had not. Nicko looked around at his current surroundings. It was dark, and Nicko could barely make out anything. Suddenly, he felt an ice cold hand on his shoulder. Shocked and very afraid, Nicko whirled around, just in time to come face to face with the rotting corpse of Misty Banda. Nicko fought the urge to yell and quickly composed himself as best he could. He knew what would solve this problem. He just needed do perform another **anti-darke** spell. He faced Misty, trying his best to avoid looking at the maggots that were crawling from her eye sockets. He muttered the incantation under his breath and for a moment, nothing changed. Nicko's heart sank. Had the spell failed? He was rather afraid.

But to his immense relief, Misty's body went crashing to the floor. At last, the **thing **had been driven out of it and after nine years, it was at last nothing more than an empty corpse. It crashed to the floor with a bang. Nicko sighed, relieved. Now, he was alone in the closet. He could try and find a way out.

But finding a way out proved to be harder than it had originally seemed like it would be. Nicko was stumbling around in the dark, looking for anything that might lead him out. Nicko hated tight spaces more than anything else.

At last, Nicko saw to his amazement, that there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. He could just make out a faint glow at the end of a long, dark hallway. Instinctively, he approached it. Anything would be better than bumping through this kind of darkness forever. When he reached the end of the hallway, though, he was a bit surprised to find that the light was coming from a small glass, just like the one he had come through in the first place. Without really thinking about it, he pushed his hand against it. It went straight through, like a hand passing through water. He laughed aloud, actually joyful. He had found a way out! He was leaving this horrid place. He took a deep breath, and walked through the glass.

When he arrived on the other side, he was surprised to find himself standing in the Castle slums. Sarah had always told her children when they were growing up never to come near the Castle slums. Nicko knew it was the place where all of the poorest of people resided. The Heaps had been poor, but they had had enough money to rent a room in the Ramblings, which was more than could be said of the people living in the slums. They were homeless and they often went to desperate measures to get money and food. Nicko glanced around. There were people standing the streets, wearing the rattiest clothes he had seen. Some of the women were barely wearing clothes at all. Nicko felt a presence standing behind him, and he turned around as quickly as he could. He came face to face with a young woman, a child really. She had long shoulder length chestnut colored hair, which was tangled and messy. Her eyes were a light brown color. They had a solemn desolate look to them, as though they had already seen things that most people never saw in their entire lives. She was barefoot and wore nothing but a torn chemise, which had probably previously belonged to a man. She was pale and extremely thin. She appeared to be no more than seventeen or eighteen years old. Nicko didn't know if he could trust her.

"Hello," he began, a bit unsure of himself, "what can I do for you, child?"

The girl responded in a low voice, which was interrupted by a terrible cough, "My good gentleman, I am the eldest of five children. My family and I have had nothing to eat for nearly a week. My littlest brother has become very very ill. Can you help us? Will you help us?" The girl's eyes widened, and Nicko saw in that instant that she was telling the truth. She was starving. As a child, Nicko had always felt like the Heaps were struggling financially, but now he perceived that he had never truly known what it was to struggle. At least the Heaps had always been able to put food on the table. Nicko looked at this poor waif and reached into his pocket and fumbled around for any kind of money he might have. At last, he came across a half crown in the bottom of his long pocket. It was, at the time, the only thing he had in the world. He held it out for the young girl.

"Here, you may have this. I only wish I had more to give you. What is your name? I might be able to return with food and some clothing."

The girl's face brightened. "Oh, you come from God, my good Sir, you are a saint! My name is Melissa Lyons. My family lives.." she paused, and her cheeks became a deep scarlet color. It was Nicko realized after a moment, the color of shame. "over there." Nicko looked up and saw a tiny little flat. The paint was chipping off the sides of it and it had a yellow, disgusting color to it, which reminded Nicko of rotting teeth. His heart filled with pity. "Does your entire family live there?" he asked.

Melissa nodded grimly. She then said, "Yes. My family and another. They have four children so there are nine of us in all. I am luckier than they are though. Those children only have their father. Their mother has been dead for nearly a year. It is dreadful. In some ways, I feel like their older sister too. A few them see me as a mother. It is an honor, but it puts much pressure on me."

Nicko had heard more than he needed to. These people were suffering. "Tonight, I will come back with a few of my friends. We will bring supplies to you and to your family. I promise. You can count on me. Melissa, my friend, this evening, you will eat like a Queen."

Melissa beamed. "Oh I cannot thank you enough! Papa will be so happy. Of course you don't want to see him when he's angry. Things get a little.." Melissa stopped, as if afraid she had said too much, "It doesn't really matter, I'm rambling, I'm afraid. But please, know how grateful I am. May I ask your name?"

"Nickolas Heap, but please call me Nicko, everyone does."

"Heap!" gasped Melissa, "you aren't related to..to the Queen, are you?"

Nicko felt like banging his head against a wall. Great, now she would think he had money coming out of his ears. She would never believe him is he said he wasn't rich. "I am a distant relative." Nicko replied, thinking fast. "But I can still help you. I will be here at seven o'clock. Be ready for me then."

Melissa smiled. "Thank you." She whispered. Quickly, grabbed Nicko's hand, squeezed it, and headed off down the alleyway. Nicko thought he could see a little bounce in her step as she walked and he felt rather good about himself. Sarah had been wrong. There were good people in the slums too.

Jenna had just had the best night of her life. Merrin had seemed more interested in her than he had ever seemed before. After he had thrown the unconscious Nicko through a trapdoor in the floor, Merrin and Jenna had made love from dusk until dawn. Jenna didn't know what had provoked this new desire in Merrin, but she didn't really care, so long as he loved her. What neither she nor Merrin realized was that Clarissa had removed her curse from him, and now he was able to lust after Jenna without a single thought of Marcia passing his mind.

Merrin too had loved his evening with Jenna. During the hours after their love making, when she had lain in his arms, he had begun to think of a new future for himself and Jenna together. A future in which they would rule over everything in the Castle. He knew he would need a little help to pull off his plan, but it was nothing that Clarissa would be unable to provide. Merrin hadn't seen Clarissa in a while, and he decided that the time had come for him to seek her advice again. Besides, now that Jenna adored him as she did, there was no reason for him to keep Delilah from her. Of course, Merrin was unaware that Septimus had already stolen Delilah away from Clarissa.

When Jenna finally awoke, she was pleased to find herself still closed in by Merrin's grip. His arms were strong and warm, and she immediately felt at ease in them. When Merrin noticed that she had awoken, he said, "Good morning, my beautiful Queen. I have some very exciting news to share with you."

Jenna's heart jumped. What could be better than what she experiencing right now? If it were up to her, she would stay here forever, lying in Merrin's embrace. Nothing would matter anymore. The world would belong to her and Merrin together and there would be no one to judge them.

As if reading her mind, Merrin said, "I've found away for the entire Castle to belong to us."

"But, how, my Darling, how have you discovered a thing like that? What is your plan?"

"I have a friend, an accomplice who knows very much. With her help, I think you could regain your place as Queen of The Castle. She is very talented and clever and could easily be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard."

Jenna interrupted. "But I don't want to be Queen any longer, Merrin. I want to live my life with you."

Merrin laughed, amused. "But you wouldn't leave me, I would be your consort. You would marry me."

Jenna caught her breath. Then, she smiled with glee and said, "Will you really be my consort? Oh Merrin, would you really want to marry me?"

"Absolutely. I love you, Jenna, I want to make you happy. But I am afraid the current ExtraOrdinary Wizard would not approve of your relationship with me. That's why we need the help of my accomplice, Clarissa. She could finish Marcia without batting a eye lash. Besides, she has an old friend of yours staying with her whom I am sure you will be interested in seeing."

This idea was beginning to appeal to Jenna. She and Merrin could finally be together and she would have extreme power. She quickly made her decision. Even though she felt bad for planning to kill Marcia and her family, Jenna knew it was the only way she and Merrin could live the life they wanted. "Merrin, I love the idea. You _are _brilliant. But who is the old friend?"

Merrin smiled. "Your daughter."

Upon hearing these words, Jenna threw her arms around Merrin's neck. "Oh I will see my Delilah again! I promise, you will like her, my dear, she is an angel. I have taught her well. Oh my life will be complete at last. You haven't got the faintest idea how much I have missed her. Thank you." Jenna kissed Merrin. At last, her life was coming together again.

Meanwhile, Marcia Pye felt as though her life was falling apart. Marcellus had not spoken to her very much in the last week. She was aware that he believed she was interested in Septimus romantically. Marcia had tried to convince Marcellus that there was no truth to his belief, but Marcellus wouldn't be swayed. It was true, Marcia did love Septimus, but he was her apprentice and Marcia would always see him as a child, that sweet, thoughtful boy who had brought so much love into her empty life. Marcia missed that Septimus, the Septimus who had always seemed to see her as a parent, a guardian. She was puzzled by this new, unfamiliar Septimus. He now claimed her loved her and lusted for her. Lusted for her? God, what was the world coming to? Though she didn't admit it aloud, Marcia could see where Septimus was coming from. Septimus considered Marcia to be the first person he had ever truly loved, and he was convinced that he loved her in every way it is possible to love another person. For seven long years, Marcia and Septimus had been the center of each other's worlds and that kind of bond was not easy to forget. But in some ways, she wanted Septimus to forget how close they had been, at least a little. For awhile, it had seemed as though he might have actually forgotten. After all, he had seemed to determined to kill her. Marcia was relieved that Septimus had gotten some of his common sense back, but she couldn't help but wonder where it had gone in the first place. Who had influenced Septimus? Why on Earth did he seem so crazy now? Why in God's name did he suddenly desire her sexually, a thing which she had never imagined would happen? Marcia's head hurt. There were far too many questions that she wanted answers to.

Marcellus was heartbroken. He should have known he wasn't good enough to keep someone like Marcia's attention on him. But she couldn't believe she had found pleasure in the arms of Septimus Heap, a boy she had raised, practically her first son. Septimus and Marcia's relationship had always been to queer for Marcellus to work out. He had known they were close, but he hadn't known the level of their closeness until a week earlier. It was unsettling. Marcellus didn't know how he was going to cope.

Septimus was also conflicted and angry. Septimus was just coming to know how complicated life could be. He was living with Sarah, helping her raise Delilah, which was hard work and truly, Septimus's heart wasn't in it. He was distracted. He had always just loved Jenna. Things had been so simple then. He had been able to focus on Jenna and nothing else. Now, he remained as ever, focused on Jenna, but he was equally focused on Marcia. He couldn't understand why, but he was. Was it possible to be in love with more than one person at once? And if it was, what had made him fall in love with Marcia? Or, perhaps the scariest question of all, had he been in love with her for many years and never known it? He didn't know. But Septimus shouldn't have been worried about his love life just then. If he had known what was coming, he would have realized he had much, much more important things to think about.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I have never and will never own Septimus Heap. If I did, all of the Heaps would be crazy.

Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing. Hey I am sorry if I am going overboard with the craziness, I just love a complicated story. Oh and I have the grand total for you guys. Three of my cannon characters will survive. So my approximate guess was correct. But the competition is still on. Whoever guesses the last three survivors is the winner. That doesn't include OC's though, so not all of the characters will die. Nobody panic. I'm actually really happy with the way I am planning to end this. This chapter is about the…Failed Marriage! Don't think I forgot about that. The next chapter is all about Jenna, Merrin, Edd Heap, and Clarissa for anyone who cares about them. But you guys are tired of hearing me talk, right?

**It's too late to apologize-**One Republic

Chapter Seventeen

Nicko came back to the slums that evening just as he had promised he would. With the help of Rupert Gringe he had managed to tote bags of unwanted food and clothing to the Lyons family and the family they shared a flat with. Nicko and Rupert watched the family eat, and were satisfied. They had helped someone worse off than them. However, as the night wore on Nicko realized that not everything in the Lyons household was perfectly normal. Melissa seemed particularly edgy around her father, but Nicko couldn't guess why.

Melissa spent a lot of the night trying to catch Nicko's eye. No one like Nicko had ever even looked at Melissa before, and it made her nervous and excited at once. Melissa was usually a bold girl, but when standing near Nicko, she found she couldn't say anything. How could a grown man as well off and attractive as Nicko really have spent the time and energy to help her? Melissa was used to men telling her she was worthless. A whore, a hussy, a waste of space, these were the terms men of Nicko's status typically called Melissa. But Nicko had called, her "my friend." There was something different about him. But all the same, Melissa was worried. She knew that her father often asked her and her siblings to rob gentlemen like Nicko once he knew a thing or two about them. Melissa didn't want to take anything from Nicko or harm him in any way, but she knew what her father would do to her if she refused any of his orders. Certain rich men she had no problems taking things from. For the most part, they deserved it. But Nicko wasn't like the other men. So Melissa had been avoiding her father all evening, hoping he would ask her to swipe Nicko's wallet or something atrocious like that.

Nicko had noticed Melissa trying to catch his eye and it had made his stomach flop. There was something so familiar about Melissa, like being welcomed home from a long journey. He couldn't quite explain it. He hated himself for it though. Melissa was a child. He didn't think he was interested in Melissa romantically, certainly not that. But he did think there was something special about her, he just couldn't say what.

After a while of starring at him, Melissa made her way over to Nicko. She decided she had had waited long enough. She was going to try and talk with him, what could she lose? She didn't know when she would see him again. When she walked closer, Nicko's face lit up. That reassured her more than she had expected it would.

When she finally reached him, she said, "Thank you again for all of this, you really didn't have to go to the trouble."

Nicko intervened. "It was no problem at all. Listen, Melissa, I want to help your family again. You're good people, you don't deserve to be in this sort of situation."

Melissa felt her heart sink. Good people…Nicko thought her family was full of good people. If he knew she had been raised to panhandle and pick pockets, he would not even want to be near her. But rather than admit any of this she simply replied, "You are too kind, ..er Nicko. Most people do not bother to help us. But never mind me, I want to hear about you. Who are you, Nicko Heap? Who are you really?"

Nicko was confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, where were you born, where do you work, what life kind of life have you led? I want to feel like I know you, at least a little." Nicko smiled at Melissa. It had seemed like a very long time since anyone had wanted to know about him. Citizens wanted to know about Septimus, about Jenna, but never about him. Nicko wasn't a self centered person, but it felt good to be noticed now and again. But he couldn't tell Melissa he was raised alongside the Queen, that would contradict the story he had already told her.

"I was raised here in the Castle, in the Ramblings. My family was very poor, but we did at least have a roof over our heads. I work in Jannit Maartin's old Boatyard, but God love her, she's gotten too old to do much around then anymore. I was her apprentice for years. Rupert and I practically run the place now. I've got a nice boat it's called.." he stopped. His boat was called Snorri. Nicko didn't know if he could even pronounce this name. He was afraid he might become emotional.

Melissa could tell something as bothering him. "It's all right, Nicko." She said awkwardly, "You don't have to answer these questions. It was probably forward of me to ask you to tell me all of that."

Nicko gathered his strength. "No, no it wasn't forward at all. My boat is called Snorri. It named after my wife."

Melissa's face changed a little. "You're married then?"

"She died. It was terrible. She was killed." Nicko was about to tell Melissa the truth, but he had to stop himself. He hadn't told anyone and he certainly tell Melissa. What was it about her that made him want to spill all of his secrets? He decided to tell her the same story he had told everyone else. "Do you remember when the Wendrons attacked the Castle? The night, Septimus and the Queen disappeared?"

Although she tried not to, Melissa shuddered. "Yes, it was horrible! They killed so many, especially people..well people who live here. They're wretched. We were lucky Marcia was ready to take over again. I don't remember much about her first reign as ExtraOrdinary, I was quite young when she passed the position on to Septimus. For years, he was a great ExtraOrdinary, as I am sure you are aware. He even did things to help people like me. You said you were related to Septimus in some way? I'm disappointed by the way he fled the Castle. I can't help but think that..oh it's stupid really."

"No, say it." Nicko encouraged her.

"Well okay, but don't laugh. I sometimes wonder if Septimus wasn't in love with the Queen. The way I understand it, they were adopted siblings so it was forbidden for them to have any kind of relationship, but everyone always talked about how close they were, even though the Queen was married. I think he may have gone off to find her after she vanished."

Nicko tried not to let the shock show on his face, but he couldn't help it. For a moment, it revealed itself. How did Melissa know that? She had just explained exactly what Nicko had suspected had happened between Jenna and Septimus. And Jenna obviously had no problem with attempting to seduce her brothers. Nicko shook away his memory of Jenna in the Observatory. He didn't wasn't to think of that now.

Melissa read his look of shock perfectly. "You believe my story too, I can tell! Don't even bother trying to deny it, Nicko."

"But how did you know all that about them?" blurted Nicko. As soon as he did, he regretted it. He had practically just told Melissa that he knew Jenna and Septimus personally. She wasn't stupid. He had a bad feeling that it wouldn't take her long to realize he was their brother.

He was right. "I knew it!" exclaimed Melissa, "I knew it!" she lowered her voice and whispered these soft words in his ears, "You're not a distant cousin, are you? You're one of the Heap boys. You're Septimus's brother."

There was something so eerie in the way Melissa confirmed this that, Nicko felt a tremor run down his spine. "Yes." He admitted quietly. He didn't see the use of lying anymore. "But I don't want everyone here to know. You're a clever girl, Melissa. Be clever again. Don't disclose my identity to anyone, even your family members."

To Nicko's pleasant surprise, Melissa muttered, "Done. I shall tell no one anything. You can trust me. I know a lot of things I don't tell. You'd be surprised to know what a girl learns on the streets."

Nicko gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sure. I will help you out of your situation, I promise." Melissa and Nicko continued their conversation late into the night. Nicko found himself telling Melissa many things he hadn't told anyone, aside from Snorri and Jenna. It was odd for him to tell her all of this. She was a stranger and a child. He told her about his worries, his grief for Snorri, his love for Theo and his extreme desire to protect him, he even told her about what it was like to be the Queen's brother and how that had changed his life. And Melissa listened attentively to all of this, asking questions here and there. When Nicko finally left that night he was said to go. He intended to come back as soon as he could to see Melissa. It was only after he left that he realized he had asked Melissa very little about her own life.

As soon as he had gone, Melissa's father turned to her and said, "The next time that rich man sets foot in here, we're going to be ready for him. We'll get his whole pocketbook. Of course we'll have to finish him first, but that won't be a problem. Leave it to your old man. I'll come up with a plan, I always do." The wiry little man laughed. Melissa felt as though she might vomit. So her father did want to harm Nicko. Well, she wouldn't allow it. No matter what she had to do, she would help Nicko. After all, he had helped her.

At the same time, Marcia was walking through the streets of the Castle. She was coming home from a meeting she had had with the chief hermetic scribe at the Manusriptorium, and she was exhausted. She took the long way to the Wizard Tower. She didn't realize just how much she was going to regret making this decision. On her way down one of the shady alleyways, someone jumped, seemingly from out of nowhere, and grasped her around the waist. Marcia gasped, shocked, and prepared to defend herself. All at once though, she recognized her attacker. "Septimus?"

"That's right." He replied. Marcia was nervous. He had a very wild look in his emerald eyes. "Can you believe it?" he asked, "We're finally alone. We can be together. Look, there's no Marcellus in sight. This is just the way I want it." Then, Septimus elapsed into a monologue. "Oh you're so beautiful. I can't believe I never noticed it. I love you. I love you so much, you've been my life since I was ten years old. Please, make me happy, just once."

Marcia tried to disguise just how disgusted she was. "Septimus," she said, sternly. "Get your hands off of me. I am not your plaything. Besides, the things you are saying are not even logical. You don't love me romantically, Septimus. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you don't. You always used to say you loved me as a mother, I believe that is far more accurate. I don't know what's causing your brain to become nothing more than a repulsive pile of rubbish, but that is exactly what has happened. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get home to my family." Marcia tried to walk around him, but Septimus barred her path.

"Don't think you're getting away that easily. All those years I lived with you, I just never realized how much I love you. I assumed it was mother to son love, I didn't recognize it for what it was. Now, I am older and I do. You must respect that. I know you love me, Marcia, stop trying to deny it. You love me more than anyone else you know."

"Septimus, first of all, that's simply not true. Secondly, even if, in some mad alternate world, and those kind of places don't exist, I did love you romantically, our relationship wouldn't work. I love Marcellus, I'm married. I have children. I need to think of them. I really love Marcellus, Septimus. You don't understand."

"Maybe you do love him," admitted Septimus, "but you love me more, even if you don't know it."

Marcia wiggled out of Septimus grasp, but he grabbed her again and pinned her against the wall. Marcia tried to keep her cool, but she was frightened. "Septimus," she said, "Please don't be so stupid. You don't know what you are doing."

"Oh I know perfectly well." Septimu smirked. Then, he leaned in and kissed Marcia on the mouth. Marcia struggled some more at first, but Septimus was overpowering.

Ironically enough, Marcellus Pye was strolling past the dark alleyway on his usual afternoon walk. He heard sounds coming from the alleyway and though he knew he shouldn't be, he was curious. But when he peered down the long walk, he desperately wished he hadn't. There was his wife, kissing Septimus Heap. Marcellus thought he might wretch. So she did care for him, she had lied to Marcellus. She was sneaking around with Septimus behind his back. Marcellus was dismayed. He decided to face his wife and call her on it. He was tired of being played.

"Marcia," he called, "Marcia, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

Marcia was horrified. There was her husband, storming down the alleyway, looking furious. She had no idea how she was going to explain this. She silently cursed Septimus for getting her into another uncomfortable situation with her Marcellus.

Marcellus continued, "Marcia, you shouldn't even bother to lie to me, the truth always comes out. Look, I know you obviously think I'm stupid, otherwise you wouldn't have even tried going behind my back. I hate to tell you, but I'm not stupid. And I am sick and tired of being betrayed. I can't trust you anymore. Marcia, I don't think I can be married to someone I don't trust." Marcellus stuttered the last part out. He had tried to sound confident, but he hadn't quite made it.

Marcia's mouth tasted like pennies. "Marcellus, this isn't what it looks like. Don't do this. Let me explain what happened."

Marcellus raised a hand to silence her. "Marcia, I don't want to hear. Usually, when you see something like this, it's everything it looks like and then some. I don't want to live with this anymore. Can't you see I'm tired of being used?" He didn't give Marcia a chance to answer. He deliberately turned his back and started walking back up the alleyway. Marcia could tell he was leaving so that she wouldn't see him become emotional. He was like her in that way.

Marcia felt sick. Marcellus was leaving her. The reality of the situation hit her and she felt like crying. Marcellus was leaving her because of Septimus. Could this week get any worse?

Septimus smiled and interrupted Marcia's thoughts. "At last, you're mine."

Marcia didn't think she could tolerate that. She found a new strength from somewhere inside herself and she managed to break away from Septimus. She ignored his cursing from behind her. She had to find Marcellus and fast.

When Marcia arrived back at the Wizard Tower, she found it empty. Marcellus and her children were gone. Marcia sighed. So he had been serious. What was, he couldn't have left at a more serious time. The previous morning, Marcia had just discovered some rather good news that she had been estatic to share with Marcellus. Now, she wasn't sure if the news was good or not. She needed Marcellus to help her with this new task. It wasn't something she could do alone.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I have no relation to Angie Sage

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to all who have reviewed. Your comments mean a lot. Anyway, lots of love to anyone who regularly reviews this. (You know who you are.) This chapter is for you. There's a part of this chapter that's a spin on a very famous novel. I hope the author of that's novel's decedents don't sue me. Don't get me wrong, this chapter is pretty original, it's just a little similar. I won't disclose the name of the novel here. If you know it, great. If you don't know it, that's even better. For the purpose of this story, I'd rather you didn't know. For the record, most of my ideas are pretty original though. Oh yeah, and for E.R.T.O. If you're reading this, know that I love you. Don't do anything I wouldn't. I miss you a whole lot.

Chapter Eighteen

Jenna was in Clarissa's sitting room, gazing at the old furniture that surrounded her. The room was full of people. Some she knew well, some she did not. To her dismay, Jenna had come to Clarissa's only to discover that Septimus had escaped with Delilah. She was now determined to get Delilah back, no matter what it took. But she and Merrin were not Clarissa's only visitors that day. Just when Clarissa had lost almost any hope of taking over the Castle, the young necromancers had practically landed on her doorstep. Led by Edd Heap, they were a fearsome group. Jenna would have been terrified of them had her brother not been their leader. She also recognized Simon's son Mike in the group. She was bit shocked to see him already living with the travelling necromancers. He was only ten. But Jenna didn't question it.

Clarissa was excited. Now at last, she had supporters. With the help of the young necromancers and the support of the Queen, Clarissa could feel her chances of victory getting larger. If she could train these necromancers to follow her lead, maybe, just maybe, she would have a chance to have power of the Castle at last.

Clarissa addressed these men. "My good men," she began, "the time has come for us to take the Castle. If we all work together, I believe we can beat those stupid bastards who live there. But we must be prepared. It will take time for us to get ready, but I believe we will move quickly. Especially with the help of our Queen." She gestured toward Jenna, who blushed. A few of the necromancers applauded. "But first," Clarissa continued, "we need to make a sacrifice."

"A sacrifice?" asked Mike Heap, puzzled.

"Yes," replied Clarissa, "a sacrifice to the memory of the greatest necromancer who ever lived, DomDaniel." As she said, his name, Clarissa ran her hand through her grey-blonde hair. A few of the young necromancers took their hats off at the mention of DomDaniel's name. But one of them laughed. Clarissa was infuriated.

"Are you suggesting that DomDaniel was not the greatest necromancer of all time?"

The boy was bold. "I am suggesting just that. He was pathetic. He couldn't even defeat Marcia Overstrand . He was-"

The poor boy didn't get any further than that. Clarissa struck him down with a **thunderflash**. He died immediately. The other young men were petrified.

Clarissa turned to face them. "Anyone else?" she asked menacingly. She was answered by a chorus of "no" and "no ma'am."

"Good." Clarissa replied, "That's exactly what I like to hear. Now, let's get to down to business, shall we? We have to make a sacrifice to the memory of DomDaniel. I believe this damn little upstart's corpse will work just fine. But we need another sacrifice as well. Do any of you have any ideas?"

Edd Heap raised his hand. "We could sacrifice the White Witch we kidnapped." Edd was, of course, referring to Aunt Zelda. But he no longer called her his aunt. He had no feelings for his family any more.

"Perfect." Clarissa answered. "Where is she now?"

"Tied to that Oak tree in the yard. I'll go and get her now." As Edd headed for the door, Jenna could feel her heart sink. Even though she tried not to, Jenna still loved Aunt Zelda and had no desire to watch her be sacrificed right before her eyes. But to her relief, Edd returned to the house alone, red faced and angry.

"She's gone!" he announced, the addressing one of the young necromancers, he said, "Jimmy, you didn't tie her up well enough. She got away, you sorry bastard!"

Jimmy went pale. "I tied her up well enough. It's her witchcraft she used to escape. It's witchcraft, I tell you. Please, understand. Please, forgive me."

"I cannot." Edd declared. "You were careless and so must pay the price. Clarissa, we will sacrifice Jimmy in DomDaniel's good name."

"No!" bawled Jimmy, but it was too late. In a moment, he joined the first young necromancer on the floor, after Clarissa's killing curse struck him in the heart. Jenna had to restrain herself from squealing aloud. She still hated seeing anyone be killed. She was still having trouble warming up to the idea of honoring DomDaniel after the way he had treated her all those years ago. But she wouldn't admit that to Clarissa. She had no desire to die, thank you. So she sat there, shivering, trying to be brave.

Clarissa faced her audience. "Now," she said, "we prepare for our chance to take the Castle once and for all."

Outside of Nicko Heap house, a conspiracy was occurring. Bertrand Lyons had led his gang of thugs to wait outside of Nicko's door, trying to plan a way to break in and rob him. Bertrand's eldest daughter, Melissa, was usually quite useful in robberies, but this morning, Bertrand had been unable to find her anywhere. Bertrand was annoyed. Why would Melissa leave the flat on the one day he needed her most? He had his second eldest child, another daughter, and his three sons, but they were not the same. His eldest son was only ten, and his younger daughter had just passed her fourteenth birthday. They would be of little help. However, at least he still had his men, who were a fearsome lot. They would be able to assist him. Just a Bertrand was about to give the other men the signal to go, he saw a figure approaching him in the darkness. As the figure came closer, he was able to identify her. "Melissa!" he called out, somewhat relieved. Now, Melissa could participate in his scheme.

"Papa," she said, "Papa, what are you doing? You can't rob this house, it belongs to that kind gentleman, Nicko Heap."

Bertrand was bothered. "I know perfectly well who it belongs to. Melissa, can't you see why we've come here, or are you too thick to see it? He's obviously got money. We need money. It's as simple as that." Bertrand's thugs nodded in agreement. Melissa would not be swayed.

"Papa," her voice was more gentle now. "Can't you see that we'll get more money from him in the long run if you don't do anything to harm him? He's going to continue to bring us money because he's a good, decent man. Why don't we wait until he returns to us?"

" 'Why don't we wait?'" mimicked Bertrand in a high pitch voice that was meant to be Melissa, "I'll tell you why we won't wait. I want this Heap man's money now, and no one will stop me. You, Melissa, have defied me, you damn hussy and you're going to pay for it. I'll teach the meaning of pain, I will." Betrand pushed Melissa into the arms of one of the thugs, who snickered, amused. Bertrand then said to the thug, "Take her Charles and have fun with her. Make sure she learns her lesson."

"Certainly sir. But if I do this for you, you must promise me a share of the Heap money."

Bertrand sighed, "Yes, yes, of course, now go."

But Melissa wasn't ready to give up. "I won't let you hurt Nicko!" she cried, struggling against the thug with all of her might. When she saw there was no way she was going to be able to break free of him, she screamed as loudly as she could, "Nicko! Nicko! Be careful! They're coming!" When no one replied, she screamed again.

"You ridiculous little slut!" screeched Bertrand, "I'll kill you just as I'm going to kill that Heap boy! You're a disgrace, a complete disgrace! Charles, do what you will with her, she is nothing to me." There are few fathers who would choose wealth and success over their children. Bertrand was one of these.

Charles pulled out his knife and brought it to Melissa's throat. But Melissa was ready. To Charles's shock, Melissa used a sudden burst of adrenaline to break one of her arms free of the man's grasp. She then used this arm to push the man's knife away from her. Once his knife was a little ways from her throat, Melissa yanked it from the Charles's hand. Infuriated, Charles took Melissa's arm and twisted it painfully. Melissa trembled with pain and she did the only thing she could think of to do. She stabbed Charles. She had meant to stab him in his arm, but her hand slipped and she ended up stabbing him in the abdomen. Charles yelled in pain and dropped Melissa. He fell to the ground and after a moment, to Melissa's horror, he was dead.

"Now look what you've done! You've killed one of my best men. You'll be sorry, you little bitch." Bertrand was about to go on, when he saw someone approaching them in the darkness, much like Melissa had half an hour earlier. Only this time, it was the figure of a man.

"Quick," hissed Bertrand to his men, "Let's go before we are seen. We will get another chance to do this." The men followed Bertrand in a huff, furious at being thwarted by Melissa. They left her, alone in the street. Melissa was relieved to see them go. Whoever was approaching her couldn't be as bad as they were. In the meantime, Melissa lightly knocked on Nicko's window. There was still no answer. Suddenly, it dawned on Melissa that Nicko was probably still out working. No wonder he hadn't heard her cries. But who was this man coming her way?

The man was Marcellus Pye. Marcellus was staying in the house he and Marcia had lived before she had reclaimed her position as ExtraOrdinary Wizard. He had gone into to the city market and now, he was heading for home. But when he saw Melissa, standing five feet from Charles's bloody body. He stopped. "Who are you?" he asked, hoping her didn't sound the least bit afraid.

"Sir, listen to me," began Melissa, "I..didn't…I mean, I was only trying to help Nicko…and.." Melissa was spluttering. She hardly knew where to begin. Here she was, speaking with a total stranger, trying to explain why she was sitting in the middle of nowhere with a bloody corpse beside her.

Marcellus could tell the girl was obviously distressed. He could tell by her apparel that she most likely resided in the Castle slums. Marcellus took pity on her. "Shh.." he said soothingly, "Just tell me what happened, it's all right, I'll listen." He walked over to Melissa and gently took her hand in his. He looked at her. She was only a child. How sad it was really, to see someone so young in such dire circumstances.

Melissa began in a wobbly voice. "Well, it was..it was awful. It all started when.." Unfortunately, Melissa never got to finish her thought. She was interrupted by another person, who had just entered the clearing where Marcellus and Melissa were sitting. Marcellus knew the figure at once.

"Marcia!" he gasped, "What are you doing here?"

Marcia had done a **seek.** She had been determined to find Marcellus and attempt to explain to him what had been going on between her and Septimus. She also wanted to share her news with Marcellus. But when she caught sight of Melissa, her blood ran cold. Here was her husband, sitting in a clearing with a teenage girl who was dressed in the most atrocious attire Marcia had ever seen. What was Marcellus doing with this girl? And why on Earth was there a corpse five feet from them? Marcia thought she might wretch.

Melissa had just realized who the newcomer was and she was terrified. She had heard many stories about Marcia and most were not at all nice. She had heard that Marcia lacked pity for anyone.

"Marcellus, just what do you think you are doing? Who is this..repulsive scum?" Melissa cringed, but she tried not to show it. Why give Marcia the satisfaction of knowing she had gotten to her?

"Marcia," Marcellus said, "she is not repulsive, not in the least. I wish you would stop judging people before you know them. Look, I'll come and talk to you about who the children are staying with later. Right now, I'm busy and I'm sure you and Septimus have some things to do together."

Marcia was exasperated and hurt. Obviously, Marcellus was in no mood to make up with her. "Marcellus, for the last time, I am not involved with Septimus! But that doesn't matter, what matters is that you are carrying on a conversation with a murderess. Marcellus, are you blind? Look behind you, there's a revolting corpse not even five feet from you! This girl doesn't deserve your pity, she deserves to be tried and sentenced!"

Marcellus was patient. "Marcia, you don't know that. Why don't we listen to her? I think she might have a lot of important things to say."

"Well, I don't listen to criminals, Marcellus and I know them when I see them. That girl is going to jail right now." Marcia didn't want to admit it, but normally,, she would have listened to a girl like Melissa. However, because she had found Marcellus holding her hand, she was not in any mood to show Melissa mercy.

"Listen to my story, please!" begged Melissa, "I never tried to hurt him, I swear."

"What you tried to do and what you did are two entirely different matters." Marcia snapped, "Now, come on, follow me, I haven't got all day."

Melissa knew better than to say no to Marcia. She followed the ExtraOrdinary Wizard reluctantly back into the Castle. Marcellus was left alone in the clearing, thinking hard. He was angry with Marcia for not even giving Melissa a chance to speak. But then again, something seemed to be bothering Marcia. Marcellus couldn't help but remember that she had been this moody when she had been pregnant with the kids. She had been very hard to deal with. At this thought, Marcellus became excited. He loved his children and actually wouldn't mind having another one, not at all. But then, after he thought about it for a moment, Marcellus realized that the child probably wasn't even his. Marcellus groaned. Why did were things always so complicated?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I do not own it…..

Author's Note: Hey, thanks to all who reviewed. For the record, your lists are getting rather good. Many of you are close. Many of you are close. In this chapter, Melissa's is facing the hangman's noose, Romulus contemplates his life, Sarah sees someone she never thought she would see again, Septimus plays with fire (not literally, you'll see what I mean), Marcia goes skinny dipping, and in the next chapter, Clarissa, Jen, Merrin, and Edd stage a merry takeover. This chapter is short, but it's kind of the last moment of peace for many of my characters. Note for upcoming chapters: If I kill your favorite character, don't be miffed. Chances are, I probably liked them too. But for the record, I am going to use any flames I get to roast marshmallows.

**No Good Deed goes unpunished. – **Wicked

**There is a lady all in white, hold me and sings a lullaby. She's nice to see and she's soft to touch. She says, "Cosette, I love you very much. I know a place where no one's lost. I know a place where no one cries. Crying at all is not allowed, not in my Castle on a Cloud-**Les Miserables. (Oddly enough, this works for two of my OCs, both of whom know who their mothers are, but their mothers are not doing that great a job of raising them. This is about a little girl who dreams about the mother she never really knew.)

**Quit touching my stuff! I'm in charge here, damn it!"-**teacher who got fired from my school

Chapter Nineteen

Melissa glanced around her tiny cell. It was cold and dark and Melissa had been awake all night. She could hear prisoners screaming down the hall. Melissa couldn't see the other people, but she could hear the agony in their screams and she imagined how they would look: terrifying. She had never even imagine she would be in the Dungeons someday but at least she wasn't in Dungeon Number One. That was a place specifically for the worst of prisoners. Melissa felt a little guilty. They last day was a blur to her. Perhaps she deserved to be in the Dungeons. After all, she had killed Charles. But she had had no intention of committing that horrific crime and was still having trouble grasping the fact that she had done it. Now, all because the ExtraOrdinary Wizard had refused to listen to her side of the story, she was probably going to be condemned in court and sentenced to death. That was the punishment for murder. Melissa felt like banging her head against a wall. It just wasn't fair. Melissa felt that, if she was to die, the least she should get is a chance to see Nicko once more before she was executed. She knew the most common form of execution in the Castle was hanging. Melissa was also aware that hangings were public events and many people attended them. She had never understood the Castle citizens love of violence, but they certainly did seem to have one. But Melissa knew that, if most of the city came, there was a chance Nicko might too. Melissa immediately shook this thought away though. Nicko wasn't fond of violence, she could tell that already. She was fairly sure that he would not attend any execution, least of all hers. But if, by some strange miracle, he did decide to attend, she would at least be able to see the man whose kindness had become one of the few lights in her dark world.

Melissa still hoped that she wouldn't have to go to the gallows at all. She wanted to win her court case. However, with Marcia against her, the public was likely to be against her as well. Her last real hope was that she might be able to escape from prison, if she was clever enough. But Melissa could see what a futile hope that was. No one had ever escaped from the dungeons, no matter how hard they tried. Melissa sighed. Her future was looking grim indeed. Unless….

Suddenly, Melissa's mind was whirling. She knew her idea was a long shot, but she was desperate. She was willing to try anything.

Back in the Pye household, Marcellus was preparing to leave the house. He told Romulus to watch out for Celesta until her returned. Marcellus was going to meet with Marcia about child custody and final separation. Romulus couldn't believe it was actually happening. His parents had always seemed so in love with one another. He could barely imagine his mother betraying his father with anyone , least of all Septimus, his ex tutor. But apparently, that was exactly what she had occurred, Marcellus seemed to believe that anyway. If Marcia really was having an affair with Septimus then Romulus at last understood the meaning of his recurring dream. Septimus wasn't literally killing his family members, but he was destroying his family. The dream had simply represented that. Celesta, innocent as she was, understood nothing except that her mother was gone. Romulus felt rather lost. He desperately wanted his life to go back to the way it had been before the Wendron Witches had attacked the Castle for the first time. Back when Septimus had seemed kind and good and his parents had seemed focused only on one another. But looking back on those happier times now kind of bothered Romulus a little. He wondered if Marcia and Septimus had been involved with each other even then. That did not back for comfortable thinking in the least. He hated the idea of his ext tutor with his mother. Even though he was only eight years old, he had heard stories about what lovers did together and couldn't even begin to imagine Marcia and Septimus doing any of those things. Romulus was angry with Septimus for wrecking his family. He had a feeling that things would never be the same again.

Septimus was getting rather tired of trying to woo Marcia with no success whatsoever. He concluded that he was going to have to change his tactics a little bit. If Marcia wasn't going to willingly become his, then he would make her belong to him. He decided that the time had come to try and make up with Clarissa Demarte. He knew it wouldn't be easy, Clarissa was most likely furious with him, but he was going to try anyway. With a little help from Clarissa, he had a feeling Marcia would be falling for him very, very quickly. Little did he know, he was destined to run right into the young necromancers when he reached his destination.

Meanwhile, Marcia was leaving the Wizard Tower in a huff. She was going to be gone for a few hours and was leaving two Ordinaries in charge. Marcia had asked Marcellus to meet her right outside a little café that faced the Sargasso Sea, a little ways outside the Castle. Marcia was going to use this meeting as a last attempt to win him over. She had told him to meet her at this café, but she had no intention of actually going inside of it. There was a reason she had asked him to meet her outside of the Castle. She didn't want to be seen. Marcia dropped a small note just off the path she knew Marcellus would be walking along. She silently prayed that the note wouldn't be blown away. Just for safe keeping, she put a small stone over it. With this finished, Marcia made her way to the beach. IT was about seven-thirty in the evening, and it was getting dark.

Marcia was lucky. Marcellus stumbled across her note just as the last rays of sun were leaving the sky. The note wasn't signed, but it didn't have to be. Marcellus knew Marcia's script as well as he knew his own. In spite of his attempts to control his emotions, Marcellus felt his heart jump a little at the sight of her writing. He sighed, feeling pathetic. It was going to take a long time to forget her or to make himself remember he wasn't supposed to love her anymore, in any case.

Excitedly, Marcellus read every word of the note once more. It was a simple sentence: Go to Calver's Cove. Marcellus was puzzled. Calver's Cove? But no one went there anymore, especially not at night. It was much more dangerous than meeting in a quiet café. He hoped Marcia knew what she was doing.

When Marcellus reached Calver's Cove a quarter of an hour later, he saw a lone figure standing at the edge of the beach. "Marcia," he called out, tentatively. The figure looked up and Marcellus saw that it was indeed his wife.

"Marcia," he asked as he came closer, "Why here? Have you lost your mind?"

"I'd like to ask the same thing of you, Marcellus Pye." Marcia retorted. "I want to talk to you privately. Marcellus, I could beat around the bush, but I just don't feel like it tonight. You want to divorce me because you think I had an affair with Septimus, am I right?"

"But you did! I have seen the two of you kissing twice what was I supposed to believe Marcia? Do you think I wanted to believe it? Do you think I want this? The children are miserable, I'm…well.. it doesn't matter…I" Marcellus couldn't believe he had been so stupid. Just then, he had nearly admitted her was miserable without Marcia. How stupid could he be?

Marcia didn't think he was stupid at all. In fact, she smiled for the first time in days. "Marcellus," she exclaimed, "I was right. I had a feeling you weren't over me. I'm relieved actually, I was rather afraid that you really were going to-" Marcia stopped, recognizing that she was babbling. She looked at Marcellus, and said nothing for a moment. Finally, she whispered, "I never had an affair with Septimus. I promise. He's interested in me, obsesses even. It's so bizarre and horrible. Marcellus, I have something important to tell you, something that will affect both of us very much. I'm pregnant and it's yours. I never…became intimate with Septimus or have any desire to do so." Marcia shuddered a little at the thought and continued, "I always loved him as a son before I got my own family. I can't figure out what's wrong with him, Marcellus. I just don't know."

Marcellus looked into Marcia's eyes. He had to acknowledge that Marcia was most likely telling the truth. She wasn't usually an emotional person and Marcellus could see how passionate she was now. He sat for a moment, trying to take everything in. At last, he said, "I jumped to conclusions when I saw you with Septimus, didn't I?"

"Marcellus," chided Marcia, "do not blame yourself. If you're going to do that I'd rather you didn't say anything. It's rather foolish to go wasting your time talking badly about yourself, it doesn't get you anywhere."

Marcellus chuckled a little. Then, his expression became more serious. "So we're really having another baby?" he tried to hide his excitement, he thought Marcia might think it childish, but he ended up hiding it rather badly.

"Yes, we are. And I should hope you're a bit more happy about it than you are acting, Marcellus. I am the one who has to carry the baby so I have to spend the next nine months feeling utterly miserable."

Marcellus should have known it would be better to let his feelings show. "Marcia, I am excited about the baby." He blurted, "In fact, I can't wait. Let's start thinking of names. I like Roger for a boy and-"

Marcia cut him off, laughing. "All right, all right. But don't you think you're being a bit hasty here? Before we do anything, I want to have some fun."

Marcellus was amused. Marcia didn't usually approve of "having fun." He looked at her and asked, "What do you mean?"

A sly smile played across Marcia's lips. "Well, inevitably my body is going to swell up like a disgusting balloon in the next few months so I figured I would use it while I still can." Before Marcellus could ask what she meant, Marcia winked at him and threw of her robes in a slow, teasing manner, not unlike the one Jenna had used to seduce Merrin in the Observatory. Marcellus was stupefied as he usually was when it came to Marcia's body.

Before long, Marcia was standing in her underwear. Then, she proceeded to do something that Marcellus considered to be very unlike Marcia. She waded out into the waters of the cove. After a moment, she asked, "Marcellus, are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me some company?" Her voice had a teasing air to it and it didn't take Marcellus five minutes to discard his clothing and join Marcia in the water. That night under the moon and stars, Marcellus and Marcia lost track of time. They began their time together swimming with one another and performing some rather naughty antics that Queen Etheldredda, Marcellus's mother would not have approved of. (It's time to pull out those awesome imaginations again…or not, depending on whether or not you like this kind of stuff.) Eventually, the ended the night on the beach lying in one another arms and talking about the future. It was a blessing that their night together had been so wonderful. They didn't truly understand what little time they had left.

Sarah Tarsal was alone in her sitting room, reading a novel when she heard the sounds of someone walking through the pantry. "Terry?" she called out, expecting it to be her husband coming home from work.

"Guess again!" shouted a familiar voice. Sarah thought she might die.

"Oh! Oh my God! It's you, it's you! Oh my! Oh my! I must be dying!" Sarah felt herself losing consciousness, but not before she felt a pair of strong arms reach out to catch her before she fell. She smiled, even though her brain could no longer process much. Now, at last, she could be happy again.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Sarah managed to keep herself from fainting, although for a moment she had been sure she was going to. There standing above her was her son Edd whom she had presumed had been killed. She felt happy enough to fly. Because so many of her sons had been killed, Sarah was extremely happy to have her darling Edd back near her again.

"Edd!" she cried, "Oh my son! My son! You've come back! I figured by this time you would be….oh but you're not! Oh thank God you're not! You've been a naughty boy to worry you mother like this."

Edd smiled at Sarah. "Mum, you have no reason to worry any longer. I'm here and I am not going anywhere again if I can help it."

"Oh this is just splendid! I have a room where you can stay, let me show it to you right now. Oh what-"

Edd interrupted. "Mum, there is no need for that. I will stay in the Wizard Tower."

Sarah was baffled. "The Wizard Tower? But Edd, why on Earth would you stay there? Marcia lives-"

Edd intervened for the second time. "Not any longer, Mum. She left the Castle unattended for nearly nine hours. In that time, my comrades and I have managed to secure a position at the top of the Tower. When Marcia and her no good family returned nearly an hour ago, my comrades were ready for them. They're in the Dungeons now, just where they need to be until we can get around to giving each of them a proper execution. It was no trouble beating them. Marcia's not nearly as a strong or powerful as she believes herself to be. Especially when compared to our leader."

Sarah paused, trying to let everything sink in. So Marcia was no longer in charge? Had it been that easy to best her? Sarah almost wished she could have helped. She shook her head to clear the thoughts. "Who exactly are your comrades, dear?"

"The travelling necromancers, Merrin Meredith, my brother, Septimus Heap, and my sister, Our Queen. Our leader is Clarissa Demarte." Edd looked smug. Sarah felt more relief flood through her veins.

"Edd, do you mean to tell me that Jenna is all right? That she's here? But wait, why do you speak to me of Merrin Meredith? What does he matter anymore? He is dead! Nicko killed him nine years ago. And Clarissa Demarte? She too has been dead for years. Marcia claimed to have killed her the day Alther died twenty-six years ago."

Edd was patient. "Mum, Marcia wasn't telling the truth. She wanted to make herself look good. Can't you see that? She never killed Clarissa. She was lying. But she's paying for it now. Clarissa is the ExtraOrdinary Wizard."

Sarah remembered Silas talking about Clarissa and the stories had not been nice. She didn't know if wishing for Marcia to be gone had been a good idea after all. Clarissa was the ExtraOrdinary Wizard? Things might get tricky. But instead of confessing these fears to her son, Sarah simply replied, "Congratualations my Darling. The Castle will be in better hands now. Although I do have one thing to ask of you."

"Anything, Mum." Edd answered, somewhat eagerly.

"Bring Jenna to me. I want to see her. I'd like to see Septimus as well. I'd like to let him know how prous I am that he decided to break ties with Marcia. She never did our family any good." Sarah was of course, speaking of her rocky marriage to Silas when she said this, but Edd knew nothing of the sort.

"I will do it. You will see them both this evening. Oh and I feel obligated to answer your question about Merrin Meredith as well. I fear I have forgotten to do so."

Sarah suddenly remembered Merrin and inquired, "Yes, how is it that he is alive, dear?"

"He managed to get a hold of DomDaniel's two faced ring. He is practically invincible now. Mum, don't look at me like that. He's actually got some good ideas. Besides, I think if he died, it would upset Jenna quite a lot." Edd smirked. Sarah was perplexed.

"Upset Jenna? Why?"

"Mum, I could lie to you, but why bother? She's fallen for him, hook, line, and sinker. I can't quite figure out why, but she has. I believe Merrin returns these feelings. It's a strong relationship, if a bit unusual. I've come to accept it."

Sarah didn't know what to think. She didn't know if she was going to be able to "come to accept" her daughter's apparent affection for Merrin. It was all so odd to her. "Edd?"

"Yes?"

"Bring Jenna here tonight. Tell her I have her daughter."

At this Edd's face lit up. "Perfect. Jenna wants Delilah back more than anything. With Delilah she can at last be content. She will have all she wants."

Even though Sarah didn't entirely approve of what was apparently making Jenna content, she smiled, thrilled she was able to help her daughter be happy. "Wonderful." she said, "I will expect her at around six o'clock."

"She will be here." Edd promised. Then he excused himself, ready to get back to his new duties under Clarissa's rule.

Jenna had just reestablished herself in the Palace. She couldn't help but feel happy when she walked into it. It was so familiar. It was home. Now that she was back in charge, Jenna was making plans to wed Merrin right away. She had been so excited about her wedding plans until she had set foot in the Palace that morning. All of a sudden, something inside her had changed. She couldn't explain quite what it was, but she could feel the change. It was coming from deep within her soul. She knew it was something to do with Beetle and something to do with Septimus. This bothered her more than she liked to admit. She shouldn't think of these men anymore. They were no longer major parts of her life. They had mattered so much to her when she had been a young girl, but now, she considered herself a mature woman, both physically and emotionally. She was over her past, wasn't she? Wouldn't any strong Queen put her past behind her and move on? Jenna thought so. Merrin was having some sort of a private meeting with Clarissa back in the Tower, and so Jenna was able to pass a few hours alone in the Palace. Despite her best efforts to prevent it, her thoughts turned to the past. Jenna found herself walking into the ballroom, a place she didn't often go. It reminded her of the night her father had died, not long after she had become Queen. That had also been the night she had lost Septimus's child. There were days every once in a while when Jenna wondered what that child would have turned out to be like. He or she would be nine years old now. Jenna shook herself to clear the thoughts. They weren't healthy. She would have more children and she still had Delilah. She was there in the Castle, Jenna was sure of it.

Jenna walked into the ballroom. As she did so, she began to feel small, just as she always did when she entered the room. It was large enough to fit almost all of the Castle inhabitants inside and had several times in the past. It was also the room where she and Septimus had shared their final kiss. Sometimes, Jenna wondered if, even after all this time, Septimus still loved her. In some ways, she rather liked the idea of him waiting for her. She knew it was selfish, but it was nice to think that she was worth waiting for, even if it was only her childhood sweetheart.

Septimus was sitting outside, not far from the moat. He was thinking hard. On one hand, he was relieved that it had been so easy to snatch control away from Marcia. But on another hand, he felt a little guilty. He had succeeded in making Marcia miserable again, which always upset him, even though he couldn't admit that now. But though he felt guilty for deceiving his ex tutor, he actually felt a certain sense of pride welling from within him. He had helped Jenna earn her rightful place as Queen once more. The Castle had not been the same while she had been gone. Thinking of Jenna confused Septimus. He was beginning to recognize just how much he still cared for her. His fascination with Marcia, was embarrassingly enough, rather connected to parts of her body. With Jenna it was different. Even though she wasn't quite as…curvaceous as Marcia, Jenna was beautiful. And more important than that, she had a heart of gold. Septimus hoped that, with Marcia in prison and likely to be executed, he might be able to forget his obsessive lust and restore his love for the girl he had given up so much for. He still loved her, he knew it. He had simply misplaced that love. He could find it again. In the meantime, he would try to find a way to get that obnoxious son of a bitch Merrin away from her. He wasn't worth of walking on the same ground with Jenna.

Merrin was making out with Clarissa. He had promised her that, if they were successful in their attempt to overthrow the Castle's government, he would give her a taste of himself one last time. Clarissa loved being with Merrin because she felt it somehow connected her with her long dead master, DomDaniel. Merrin had been his apprentice after all. Naturally, Merrin preferred Jenna's company to Clarissa's but he was a man of his word for the most part. He was certainly not going to break a promise to Clarissa. There were many things about her that scared him very much indeed. He knew he just had to get through this afternoon. Merrin had confidence in his skills with women of all sorts and he knew he could deal with Clarissa, at least for a little while.

Jenna ended up having a very good evening. Not an hour after she arrived in the Palace, Edd came to her and asked her to see her mother, Sarah at six. Curious, Jenna had dressed in her best attire and gone to visit her mother. When she arrived, she tentatively knocked on the door. When around Sarah, she still felt like a child. Often she forgot she was Queen of the Castle when she was with her family.

After a few minutes, Sarah came to the door. "Jenna!" she screeched, taking her daughter into her arms. "Oh Jenna, poppet, I'm so glad to see you!" she kissed Jenna's cheek and went on, "But come inside, Sweetheart, you must be hungry. I've got someone who's dying to see you." Sarah didn't say another word. She grasped Jenna by the hand and led her into the living room where Jenna saw her daughter playing on the carpet for the first time in months.

At that moment, Jenna was at a loss for words. Silently, she squeezed Sarah's hand and her eyes welled with tears. She didn't even know why she was crying, but she was. There was such a feeling of shame building up from within her. Here was this child, who she should have spent all of the past few months worrying about, but instead, she had focused entirely on herself. "Never again!" cried Jenna aloud. She knew Sarah would have no idea why she had just said what she had, but she didn't really care. "Never again." she repeated, her voice heavy with her tears. She bent down and whispered, "Delilah, it's all right, I'm here. Come to-"

"Mummy!" Delilah finished for her. She rushed at Jenna and threw herself into her arms. Jenna covered her with kisses and wept shamelessly. Now was her chance to start over. She would never be foolish again. She would be a good example for Delilah.

At last, Delilah asked, "Mummy, where's Daddy?"

Jenna was quiet. How could she explain Beetle's absence? This didn't seem like the time to teach her daughter about death. But Sarah answered before Jenna could.

"Jenna," she muttered, "for some reason she has no memory of Beetle. She thinks Septimus is her father."

"Oh." Jenna said, and then realizing how queer the whole thing was, she said, "Oh my God." It was as if her daughter knew something about Jenna's past, although that was not possible. But it did unsettle Jenna. She had to go and sit down.

Surprisingly enough, the Castle adjusted well to and even accepted their new leaders without complaint. Clarissa had managed to convince the public that Marcia had been a corrupt leader and they were beginning to respect Clarissa and her followers. Clarissa couldn't be happier. At long last, she had lived up to her full potential. DomDaniel would have been very proud.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: Hi guys. I want to thank all of you for your support. I can't believe so many of you actually like this story, but I am happy I haven't wrecked my name. Your comments made me feel really, really good. I will finish, but I think you guys may regret telling me to finish. I hope not…. But I will finish, you've convinced me. I'm not trying to be a pushover, I just feel guilty. You're right, I should finish what I start. I don't know what I wass thinking, I must have been in a very bad mood yesterday. I'm not a quitter, I wasn't raised that way.

Chapter Twenty One 

Melissa succeeded. Not five days after Clarissa took over, Melissa managed to get herself out of prison. Nicko was partly responsible for this. The news of Melissa's arrest had reached him and he had immediately travelled to the Dungeons to try and speak with her. When Nicko arrived at the tall, iron gates that lead to the Castle prison, to his amazement, no one tried to stop him from entering the long hall that led to the Dungeons. Normally, Marcia Pye kept a string of guards waiting outside the prison to keep anyone from escaping or getting in. Nicko was puzzled and amused by how simple it had been to enter the prison chambers. Anyone could have gone in.

Even though Clarissa had been in charge for nearly a week, Nicko had no idea that the Castle had changed ExtraOrdinaries for the third time in six months. He also had no way of knowing that Jenna had returned and reclaimed her place as Queen. Nicko had not been within the Castle walls in over two weeks. He and his son, Theo, had taken a sailing trip on the Alfrun. Nicko had loved the last two weeks. Bonding with his son had made him feel whole for the first time since Snorri had died. When Nicko had at last returned home, he felt refreshed and happy. While he had been in his voyage, Nicko had had some time to think. He thought long and hard about all of the things that had mattered to him throughout his life. He thought of boatyard, where he had spent so much time losing himself in good hard work, his family even though they were a bit odd now, his wife whom he would never see again and still felt for, his son whom he would do anything to protect, and to his surprise, he had also spent a lot of time thinking of Melissa Lyons, whom he had not known long at all. The night Bertrand, Melissa's father, had attempted to rob Nicko's house, Nicko had already been on his voyage for three days. He had no idea the events that had occurred that night and therefore, he had no idea about Melissa's dire predicament until he returned to the Castle.

His first day back at the boatyard, Nicko had told him the story everyone in the Castle already knew. They had all heard it from Marcia. Marcia told the citizens of the Castle that Melissa had been attempting to rob Nicko's house single handedly and had nearly gotten away when a kind, young gentleman had tried to stop her. According to Marcia, Melissa had mercilessly stabbed the gentleman to death. Everyone in the Castle took Marcia's word for it. Most of the Castle inhabitants believed that anyone form the Castle slums was a worthless, lying cheat and Melissa was doubtlessly the same as the rest. But when Rupert told Nicko this story, he didn't believe it, not for a second. Nicko didn't consider himself to be an incredibly intelligent person, but he could tell who was genuinely good and who wasn't. Melissa was a good person, he knew it.

So, because Clarissa did not station guards by the doors of the prison as Marcia had, Nicko was able to slip through the doors. It did not take him long to find Melissa's cell. It was small and smelled terrible. Melissa looked pale and miserable. "Melissa!" he whispered, very eager to see her.

At the mention of her name, the child looked up. "Nicko!" she gasped, not daring to believe what she was seeing. Her spirits lifted with a great joy. She couldn't help but crack a smile. "Nicko!" she said again. Then, her expression darkened and she became more serious. "You don't believe the story Bitcia has been telling everyone too, do you?"

Nicko laughed aloud. "No, I certainly don't. I came here to find out what really happened, Melissa. Whatever the story is, I'll believe you. Although I don't know why Marcia was so determined to condemn you. I'm only sorry I couldn't be here until now. I was on a voyage for the past two weeks, I take them sometimes. If I had been in town, I might have been able to keep this from happening to you. You've already suffered enough in your life, Melissa, you don't need to suffer more."

Melissa blushed. "Nicko, don't blame yourself, please. I'll tell you my story. But then I want out of here and you're going to help me."

"No problem." Nicko replied. Then he was quiet. Melissa spilled the whole story of the night she was arrested to Nicko, omitting nothing. Nicko listened, becoming more and more horrified as Melissa went on. She had gotten herself arrested trying to protect him! And while she was at it, Melissa had managed to unintentionally kill a man. Nicko could relate to that part more than Melissa would ever know.

When Melissa finished speaking, she asked, "So, do you blame me as well?"

"Blame you? What on Earth would I blame you for?"

"Killing Charles. Even though I didn't mean to, I did do it. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't be dead." Melissa cast her eyes deliberately at the floor. She seemed unwilling to say anymore to Nicko. Nicko could tell she was ashamed. Suddenly, he felt himself fighting the urge to tell Melissa what he had done to Snorri that night he had discovered her affair with Edd. But he managed to refrain from doing so. He had never told anyone what he had done to Snorri, even his family. He didn't want to admit the truth to anyone, at least, not yet.

After a few minutes of silence, Nicko said, "Well, Melissa, I suppose we should try and get you out of there."

Melissa's face brightened. She was glad to changed the subject. "I've got a plan." she announced. "I couldn't help but notice that there's a small hatch at the bottom of this cell. It's **sealed **and I'll bet leads to the ice tunnels. I need a Wizard to teach me the **unsea**l incantation so I can get out of here. Do you know anyone who can do that?"

Nicko, who had not grown up alongside of Septimus and learned nothing, responded, "Yes, actually, I do. I'm not the best at **magyk **so you'll have to bear with me, but I think I can remember it. I know you're not **magykal **but neither is my sister, Jenna, and she can pull of some spells without any trouble at all. This is one of them."

"Good." Melissa sighed, relieved. "Let's get going then."

They did get going. Since Nicko wasn't particularity good at **magyk** and Melissa wasn't very fast at learning it, it took them almost all afternoon to figure it out. Melissa was just about to give up when at last, the hatch flung itself open. Melissa gave a triumphant yell and turned to face Nicko. "I'm going in now." she told him, "I'll see you in a moment. Thanks so much for helping me, Nicko. I don't know what I would have done without you."

Nicko smiled. "After the way you saved my house and belongings, this is nothing. I'm simply returning a favor done to me. But Melissa, once you get in the tunnels, how are you going to know where to go?"

Melissa flashed him a wry smile and said, "Nicko, you'd be surprised how much those of us who live in poverty know. My father often used the ice tunnels as a short cut to get to places. There's an unsealed hatch not far from where I live. I know them like the back of my hand."

"Oh good." Nicko answered, "Just take care of yourself, okay? I'll be waiting for you."

Melissa loved the sound of those words, "I'll be waiting for you" No one had ever treated her like she was worth anything at all, so it felt wonderful to hear someone say that she was. She couldn't contain herself. She walked over to Nicko, reached her hands through the bars of her cell and grasped his hand in hers. She brought it to her lips and kissed it. "Thank you." she said once more. Then, she was off, down through the hatch and into the tunnels, leaving Nicko standing inert for a few moments afterward.

Jenna and Merrin were lounging in one of the expansive Palace sitting rooms. Well, Jenna was lounging. Merrin had fallen asleep and was drooling on himself. Despite her feelings for Merrin, Jenna was disgusted. She was also bored and there was nothing Jenna hated more than boredom. So while Merrin was asleep and Delilah was dozing in her bedroom, Jenna decided to sneak out and pay a visit to Septimus.

Jenna found Septimus working in the Wizard Tower. Clarissa had given him some very important duties. Septimus was more or less second in command in the Tower. This didn't bother him as much as he had originally imagined it would. Septimus didn't actually miss be the ExtraOrdinary Wizard all that much. He hadn't really liked being in charge of everything. It was too stressful.

Septimus had been filing some important papers in the library when Jenna walked in. "Jen!" he exclaimed, not bothering to hide his excitement. "Jen, come on in, sit down. How are you?"

"Oh I can't complain, Sep." Jenna began to feel awkward. How was she going to explain why she had come to visit him? Even she didn't know why. For once, Jenna decided to spill her guts. "Oh Sep," she moaned, "I can complain! I can complain very much! I'm having the most dreadful time right now." Jenna almost stopped herself. Why she letting herself admit these things? They were things she hadn't even admitted to herself before. "Merrin has been so odd ever since we came back to the Castle. All he does is eat and sleep. It's driving me crazy. He barely shows me any affection anymore except when we're…" Jenna lowered her voice, "when we're in the bedroom." Septimus nodded sympathetically, secretly wishing he could go beat Merrin to a bloody pulp for toying with Jenna's feelings. Jenna continued, "There's so much more to a relationship than just that. Sometimes, I wonder if she really loves me for who I am, or if she just likes my body. I just don't know, Sep, I don't know." Jenna could hear her voice getting heavy. Tears were likely to come at any second now.

Septimus wasn't about to hold Jenna's tears against her. He swept her into his arms and muttered, "There, there Jen, it'll be all right, it always is."

Jenna loved the feeling of Septimus's arms around her. It was warmer than any other embrace she knew. Before she knew it, she was kissing his lips.

Later, she couldn't explain how it had happened. In that library, Septimus and Jenna had reconnected with their youth, that better more, wholesome side of themselves. Septimus **barred **the door to the library and the two of them danced to the music in the hearts, just as they had nine years earlier, when they had still had so much to look forward to.

When it was all over, Septimus murmured, "I love you, Jen. I never stopped."

Jenna grinned and eased back into Septimus's arms, "I love you too, Sep. I love you so much." With Septimus by her side, Jenna felt complete in a way she hadn't for quite a while.

Sadly, the sense of completeness didn't last long enough. A messenger came to the Wizard Tower to inform both Septimus and Jenna of a very unfortunate occurrence. Their mother, Sarah Tarsal, had been found dead on her front porch that afternoon. When he heard this news, Septimus demanded to know what the cause of her death had been. The messenger claimed he didn't know and as a result, Septimus demanded to see his mother's corpse.

When at last he laid his eyes upon Sarah's remains, his heart filled with anguish. There was no doubt in his mind what had caused her death. Jenna knew as well, she had seen enough people die in the same manner to know exactly what had cost Sarah her life. Jenna grieved openly, but Septimus was angry. He knew there was only one form of death that would have given Sarah that pale, horrific look she now had in her frozen, glassed over eyes. Sarah had doubtlessly been struck down by the **Thunderflash **of an extremely powerful Wizard.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty-Two

In the weeks following Sarah' s death, Septimus was determined to locate her killer. He had a feeling who it might be. The Pye family had managed to get themselves out of the dungeons. No one knew how, but that didn't matter. They were gone and therefore, posed a bid threat to the Castle's newly developed government. The death of Sarah destroyed any feelings Septimus still had for Marcia as a person. However, if he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that he didn't mind the look of her body, not at all. But that was no reason for her to live, none whatsoever. Septimus knew that Clarissa would have had no reason to kill his mother and he guessed that Marcia might have done it just to spite him. She was hardly above that. Septimus's only true comfort during these weeks of mourning his mother was Jenna.

Jenna snuck away from the Palace to be with Septimus whenever she could. She still felt for Merrin, but her feelings were dying down. Jenna almost wished they weren't. She was still betrothed to Merrin and she knew the public would frown upon her if she openly showed affection for another man, especially her adopted brother. Jenna was trying to think of a way to break her engagement to Merrin without making her people hate her and more importantly, keep Clarissa on her side. She had a feeling Clarissa might not approve of her ending things with Merrin. That would cause friction in her group of followers, a group which both Merrin and Jenna were currently members of. But then, thought Jenna, Merrin _could_ always have a really bad accident. The more Jenna thought about this, the more she liked the idea. No one would ever have to know the truth….

Melissa Lyons had found a permanent residence. She was now residing with Nicko Heap and his son, Theo. Nicko had allowed Melissa to use the small sitting room in the back of the house. It had been one of Snorri's favorite rooms when she had been alive, and Nicko hardly dared to go back there anymore. Melissa, of course, had no way of knowing that Snorri Heap had spent many private hours there and she considered the space her own. She was eternally grateful to Nicko. She had never known anyone as kind, as caring. She also adored his son, Theo. He was a curious, bright boy with whom Melissa passed much time. The longer Melissa stayed at Nicko's, the more she became sure that she was developing feelings for him. At first, she tried to fight them, but it was a futile attempt. She knew her feelings were wrong. Nicko was much older than she was, she was hardly grown. But still, she had never met anyone quite like him. He was such a genuinely good human being. Every time she saw him, her stomach flopped. She hated herself for it, but she couldn't control it anymore. But she vowed to herself that she would never tell Nicko how she felt. Why gross him out if she didn't have to? She would settle for his friendship. She would try.

Nicko loved having Melissa's company in his house, but for a different reason than she loved his company. Nicko did not have romantic feelings for Melissa. Of course, she was dear to him, but he could not see her as a woman. To Nicko, Melissa was a child who had had a terrible life. He was trying to make her life better. But Melissa helped him in many ways too. Now, he no longer had to leave Theo alone when he went to work every day. Melissa would be there to watch him and play with him. There was nothing Nicko liked more than watching Melissa and Theo interact together. They had a connection, no two ways about it.

But even with all of this goodness in Nicko's life, there were still clouds of darkness overhead. His mother had died and naturally, that really bothered him. He wanted her killed caught and convicted. But perhaps even more nerve wracking than knowing his mother's killer was on the loose were his growing feelings for Jenna. Ever since that day in the Observatory, Nicko had dreamed of Jenna's form, her hips, her mouth, her face. Sometimes, Nicko was so overcome with lust that he had to hurt himself physically to snap out of it. Of course, he knew this was wrong. Jenna was his sister. Besides, there wasn't much that he truly desired about her personality at this point, just her body. That made Nicko think himself shallow. Snorri had died by his own hand and she had not even been dead a year. Now, already, he was discovering that he passionately wanted Jenna's body. But Nicko, like Melissa, knew he would never act on these feelings. Even though some nights, Nicko was tempted to run into the Palace and take Jenna into his arms, he managed to restrain himself from doing so. He was smart enough to know it would only bring him grief. He would have to resist his lust, this wretched obsession, no matter how powerful it became.

Marcia Pye was indeed responsible for the death of Sarah Tarsal, but contrary to what Septimus believed, she had committed this crime to spite him. Marcia had escaped from prison in the same manner Melissa had. That was in fact, the only way to escape the Castle's prison fortress. Marcia and her family had taken refuge at Zelda's, who had only just returned to her cottage herself. She **enchanted **it once so that no one could find it. The Pyes were safe there for a while, but it didn't take Marcia long to become restless. She couldn't bear to think of Clarissa Demarte running the Castle. Marcia was ashamed that she had allowed Clarissa to defeat her and she was determined to set things straight again. Marcia wanted to prove to Clarissa that nobody messes with her and gets away with it. But Marcia was well aware that Marcellus wasn't willing to let her go into the Castle alone again, especially now that she was expecting. Marcia knew that she really couldn't afford to take him. It was too dangerous. So one night, after the Pyes had spent a little over a week at Zelda's, Marcia **transported **herself to the Castle. She ended up right in front of the Tarsal's home. Terry was out late that evening, and Sarah was sitting on her porch, knitting. When she saw Marcia, she began to scream excitedly. "Someone come quickly! There's a dangerous murderess on my street! Oh come, help!" Marcia immediately became nervous. Someone would doubtlessly hear Sarah's cries at some point. So Marcia did the only thing she could think of to do: use **magyk **to get herself out of the situation. Marcia's intention was to hit Sarah with a stunning curse, but Sarah's cries had gotten to Marcia's already short temper faster than they usually would have and she ended up hitting Sarah with a **thunderflash** instead of a simple stun. She had gained twice the amount of power she had needed to do her stun spell. When she struck Sarah, Sarah fell to the ground in a heap. In an instant, Marcia recognized what she had done and she was mortified.

Marcia had always detested Sarah, but she had never even dreamed of killing her. Guilt flooded over her. But Marcia knew she couldn't stay and do something about Sarah's corpse, someone would have seen her. She did a quick** unseen **and made her way deeper into the Castle. She wasn't going to give up until she had the amulet once more.

It didn't take Marcellus long to realize that Marcia had gone and he guessed exactly where she most likely was. But for once, Marcellus didn't follow her. Of course, he was still worried sick about her, but he had begun to notice that, when he tried to help Marcia, he often made things worse for her. She obviously hadn't told him she was leaving because she wanted him to stay and look after the children. Marcellus was going to do what Marcia wanted him to do.

Ironically enough, Marcia actually could have used Marcellus's help this time. The one time he she didn't have him she needed him. Marcia passed a few weeks in the port, where few people recognized her. Not long after Jenna and Septimus reestablished their relationship, Marcia entered the Castle once more. Her luck couldn't have been worse. The **unseen **she was using began to wear off right when she reached the center of the Castle and bumped, literally, into Septimus Heap.

Meanwhile, in the Palace, Jenna was trying to carry out the most dangerous plan she had ever attempted. She was going to end her relationship with Merrin officially, but not in the conventional way. In order for her to end the relationship, she was going to have to seduce him once again. But this would be the last time, she knew that much. When Merrin arrived home from a meeting with Clarissa, he found Jenna sitting on their double bed. He licked his lips excitedly. He knew what that meant. Without saying a word, Merrin joined Jenna on the bed and began to undress himself. Jenna took this time to slip the tiny knife Septimus had given her into the palm of her hand.

For a little while, things were normal between the two of them. Merrin started the way he always had. He kissed her throat, her arms, her legs. Jenna remembered how this used to excite her, but now, she found it dull indeed. Septimus's kisses were deeper, more intense. Jenna couldn't deny that she liked intensity. She liked it a lot. At last, when Merrin rolled on top of her, Jenna was ready. It had taken him long enough. Slowly, she leaned up, kissed his ear tenderly, which distracted him long enough for her to twist the two faced ring off of his finger. Jenna had learned many anti-**darke** incantations from Septimus and she had been practicing the spell that would take the ring off Merrin's finger for a long time now. Merrin, lost as he was in his passion for Jenna, didn't even notice she had removed it.

After a moment, Merrin moved forward to kiss Jenna's lips once more. As he did so, Jenna pointed the knife upward so that as he came down on her, the knife stuck into his flesh. Merrin screamed aloud as the blade pierced his heart, just as Jenna had intended for it to. In an instant, Jenna was covered with Merrin's blood. Upon realizing that he plan had worked, Jenna laughed aloud. She knew she would have to do something about Merrin's corpse and quickly, but she couldn't help but admire her deed for a second. She had been clever enough to fool Merrin. That made her feel rather good about herself. Sadly, Merrin was the first of many deaths that the Castle would see in the next ten months. His death was funny in a way. The one person he had never thought would kill him, not a million years, had been the one to do the deed. For without the protection of the two faced ring, Merrin was truly dead. His days of tormenting others were over.

**AN- Okay, guys, you can mark Merrin off your lists. In this story, if someone dies, they're really dead. I'm not pulling your leg, I promise.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

When Marcia saw Septimus, she felt her heart sink. She could tell by his expression that he was not at all happy to see her. She half expected him to strike her right there and then but instead Septimus said, "So I've found you at last. What the hell are you doing here again, Marcia? I thought surely you were more clever than to return to the Castle. Doubtlessly, you are aware that you have many enemies here." Marcia could hear that Septimus was taunting her with his tone of voice, mocking her. Marcia hated it.

"I suppose you're one of them now?" she snapped coldly.

"One of what?" responded Septimus, a little annoyed.

"My enemies. I'm presuming you hate me. Probably because.." Marcia cringed, "because I never went to bed with you. Septimus, I haven't got a clue what's gotten into you but you're just not even decent anymore. Listen, you've got to pull yourself together. I don't know what's wrong with you. You're a good person, Septimus, I know that. I think-"

"I don't care what you think!" Septimus bellowed, "Marcia, you killed my mother! Don't even try to deny it! No one else could have created a **ThunderFlash** as powerful as the one that struck down Mum. I ought to murder you right here and now."

"But you won't." Marcia finished for him.

Septimus was quiet for a moment once again taking in every curve of Marcia's body. "No," he said, finally, "I won't. Marcia, I hate what you did to my mother but-"

This time, it was Marcia's turn to interrupt. "Septimus, I'm not going to lie. I am responsible for what happened to your mother." Marcia paused, expecting Septimus to explode with rage at her confirmation, but he did not. She went on, "But I have a reason, I would never have harmed Sarah for no reason at all. I was rather hoping you still had enough brain cells left to realize that, Septims, but apparently, you don't. If you'll just listen to me instead of jumping to conclusions, you might understand."

Septimus lost it. "Why on Earth should I listen to you, Marcia? You don't listen to others, not at all! You didn't listen to that Melissa Lyons girl and there have been load of times when you didn't listen to me. I bet you don't even listen to Marcellus half the time."

Marcia's anger matched Septimus's. "How dare you claim to know anything about who I listen to? I gave that disgraceful Lyons wench a chance to speak. She's a lying murderess. I always listened to you Septimus, though know I am beginning to regret ever wasting my time with you. I can't believe you even have the nerve to speak to me like that. It's unbelievably pathetic. If you truly hate me that much, why don't you try and kill me? Why are you talking to me? Enemies don't talk, Septimus. I thought I taught you that. Apparently, it didn't stick." Marcia's voice faltered a little, and then she said, " I'm afraid nothing stuck at all. But it doesn't matter. If you did try to fight me Septimus, I would defeat you. You're still so young, so-"

Septimus laughed, "Marcia, I'm twenty-six years old. I am a man. Besides, you don't even know half of what I can do anymore. Why, I bet I've got enough power in my littlest finger to completely demoralize you. But I can't do that." Septimus sighed. When he began speaking again, his tone had changed. "Marcia, I want to make you a proposition."

Marcia gazed at him, her emerald eyes still flashing with anger and disgust, but she did answer him, "What might that be?"

"If you come to bed with me, just once, then I'll let you go and never bother you again. You and your family will be free to do what you want. I'll even tell Clarissa I finished you off and she'll probably believe me without suspicion so long as you never return to the Castle. What do you say, Marcia? If you do it, you'll also help me. Can't you see that I don't want to lust after you? I don't want to think of you and desire your beautiful limbs, your soft ebony curls, and your voluptuous bosom any longer. Marcia, I truly love another woman. I'm sure that you know it is Jenna. I adore her with all of my heart and she reciprocates. But even though I recognize that passionate love I share with her, I still feel an obsession with you welling from within me like a disgusting disease. I believe that, I have you, just for one night, my thirst will be quenched and I will no longer desire you. Marcia, please, I'm not asking, I'm begging. Marcellus will never know. Come on, you know you love me. This will work out better for both of us. Please."

At first, Marcia was silent. Then, she said, "You are lying. You would not help my family, you have no desire to do so. Anyway, if I were to become involved with you, I imagine you would use me for what you wanted and then take me to that wretched Clarissa Demarte and murder me right before her that. That way, you could be with Jenna, at last free of your thoughts of me. I'm not clueless, Septimus, and you are incredibly easy for me to read."

Septimus felt like hitting something hard. How was it that Marcia always knew what he was thinking? Previously, he had always found it amusing, but on this day, it only irked him. Rather than responding to Marcia's prissy, know it all comment, he grasped her and pulled her down a narrow side street which was completely deserted. Marcia tired to push him off her, but Septimus was stronger. He managed to push her up against the backside of a beat up old building and, when he was sure no one was looking, he began kissing her throat. His kisses were so aggressive, so powerful that for a brief moment, they reminded Marcia of Silas's kisses. Septimus kisses made Marcia feel as though he had control over her, which she hated. Whenever Marcellus touched her, he was gentle and careful. He treated her as though she was something truly precious. Septimus was treating her as though she was some kind of plaything, a whore really. Marcia struggled, but to no avail. She had a feeling this evening would be a horrible one indeed.

That evening was a very terrible one for Marcia, but it was not because of Septimus. Just as Septimus was beginning to tear Marcia's clothing off, a voice stopped him. It was familiar and dear to him. "Septimus!" it cried. Septimus would have known the voice anywhere. It was Jenna.

"Jen," he started, but he couldn't continue. He didn't know what to say. "Oh Jen." he muttered.

"Damn you!" Jenna was screaming, "Damn you, Septimus! I just finished off my horrible fiancée so that we could be together at last. I have committed murder because I believed our being together was worth doing everything, even carrying out heinous crimes. But, apparently, you don't agree with me. Septimus, I should have known you would never love me, I bet you never have." Jenna walked over to him and struck him hard in the face. Then, she ran. She ran so fast Septimus didn't have time to stop her. Septimus felt like vomiting. He would have felt worse if he had known where Jenna was going. She was going to pay a small visit to Nicko.

"Now look what you've done!" he exclaimed, releasing Marcia and sinking to his knees. What would he be without Jenna?

Marcia was incredulous. "What I've done? Septimus, you tried you rape me, you stupid son of a bitch! You deserve nothing less than what you got."

Septimus was about to respond when he felt someone come up from behind him, turn him around, and punch him in the face, all in one smooth motion. Septimus felt the blood gushing from his broken nose before he saw it. He knew it was not a pretty break. He also had no doubt who his attacker was.

Marcia confirmed his suspicion. "Marcellus!" she gasped, "What the-"

Marcellus was ignoring her. He continued to punch the already hurt Septimus until finally, Septimus lost consciousness.

"Marcellus," remonstrated Marcia, although she was rather glad to see him. "There was no need for you to do that, no need at all. Beating people up never solves anything."

"It solved our problem tonight. He was going to..I don't think about what he was going to do to you? But are you all right? Do you think the baby's all right? Oh I know I never should have let you come here alone!"

Marcia was amused. "Marcellus, I was fine until tonight, really. Why did you come out here?"

Marcellus rolled his eyes as if Marcia had asked a very stupid question. "Marcia, you had been gone for three weeks. I was getting worried."

Marcia sighed. She should have figured this was going to happen eventually. "Marcellus, I'm going to be more careful. This only happened because I let my **unseen **wear off. You need to go back to Zelda's and be with the children. They need you more than I do."

"I don't think so." Marcellus replied, quickly. "I'm staying until you decide to go back with me." Marcia groaned. Marcellus was so stubborn sometimes. But she didn't get a chance to say anything about it. Someone else interrupted them.

"The only place she is going is the gallows. Both of you." Marcia glanced up and saw Clarissa. Clarissa was aged and had a dark angry look to her, but Marcia still recognized her clearly. She had seen her the night the necromancers had thrown her, Marcellus, and the children into the dungeons, but not very clearly. Like Septimus had just moments earlier, Marcia felt sick. Clarissa was just about the only Wizard around aside from Septimus who could match Marcia's **magykal **power. Marcia wouldn't admit it, but she was afraid. She knew that she not only had to defend herself, she would also have to defend Marcellus. She feared that, even without Septimus, the night would be an extremely unpleasant one.


	24. Chapter 24

Disclaimer: Come on guys, you know what's coming…I shouldn't have to say it.

Author's Note: Thanks to all who are reviewing, as usual. You really do make me feel great. In this chapter, some of the action picks up again. Jenna and Nicko have gotten a little too close for comfort and by the end of the chapter Clarissa keeps and age old promise. I noticed that none of you guys are listing Edd Heap at all. He's somewhat important. I just thought I'd mention him. The events that take place in this chapter are a bit dark. Please don't be mad at me, I promise everything in this story works out. I've got a good ending coming. Not totally happy, but decent, I assure you.

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jenna was waiting nervously for Nicko to answer his door. She had made a rash decision to go and visit him the day she had found her beloved Septimus kissing Marcia Pye. Now, she visited Nicko nearly three times a week. At first, Nicko had been someone she could confide in, someone to lean on. The only thing Jenna didn't like about her visits to Nicko was his ward, Melissa Lyons. Melissa threatened Jenna in a way she couldn't explain, just by being there. But overtime, she began to ignore Melissa more and more. She also began to feel very different about Nicko. He was so patient and understanding and he always listened to her, just as Septimus had listened to her when she was a teenager. It didn't take Jenna long to realize that she was developing romantic feelings for Nicko, but she still didn't feel for him anything close to what she felt for Septimus. He would always be her number one, she knew that. But Nicko was special in many ways. Sometimes, Jenna couldn't believe she had never noticed it before. Often, Jenna begged Nicko to sleep with her, but he never relented. It drove her crazy. Jenna was sure that Nicko felt for her the same way she felt for him. She could see the longing in his eyes when he looked upon her, so why wouldn't he have her? Jenna hoped that by beginning an affair with Nicko, she would at last be able to heal the wounds left by Septimus's infidelity. Jenna should have known better. Nothing was going to make get over Septimus.

It had been eight months since Septimus cheated on Jenna. Septimus had come to Jenna on more than one occasion and begged her to forgive him, to take him back, but she always refused. Jenna had too much pride to take back a man who made a fool of her, even if she did adore him. Septimus was still working for Clarissa and she was still ruling the Wizard Tower with an iron fist. Many people in the Castle had come to fear her. On the day Jenna had ended her relationship with Septimus, Clarissa had thrown Marcia and her husband, Marcellus, into a **charmlocked** dungeon, so that they would be unable to escape. She had originally intended to execute Marcia immediately, but then, she discovered that Marcia was expecting a child. Clarissa had no desire to harm the child and no one, even her closest followers could find out why she was so hesitant to finish the child off. Clarissa had killed many in her time, men, women, and children. They didn't see why she was showing this unborn fetus mercy, especially considering that it was the child of Marcia Overstrand Pye, a woman Clarissa made no secret about hating. But Clarissa had her reasons, she most certainly did.

Septimus was actually looking forward to Marcia's execution, which was set to occur right after the baby was born. He was hoping that, after she died, Jenna might think of taking him back. There was nothing he wanted more than that now. Of course he still found Marcia beautiful, but it is hard to lust after a pregnant woman and Septimus's feelings of obsession weren't nearly as strong. But he had a feeling that, as soon as the baby was born, he would hunger for her body anew. "The sooner Marcia is executed," he thought, "the better."

On the day Marcia's child was to be born, Edd Heap and Septimus took Marcellus to a different dungeon and locked him inside it. Marcellus was distraught. He wanted nothing more than to be with his wife on the day their child was coming. These last eight months had been so miserable for both off them that Marcellus would have given anything to be experience a little joy. He was also worried for Marcia. He was guessing that they were planning to do some very terrible things to her now that they had managed to get her out of the way. But alas, Marcellus, trapped as he was, could do nothing.

It took Marcia nearly all day to bear her third child. Without the comfort of Marcellus near her, it was a difficult process. The midwife worked closely with Clarissa, so she was not at all kind to Marcia during the process. There were some points when Marcia felt as though she might die from all the pain she was going through.

At last, Marcia managed to release her wailing child into the world. The birth of any child is a messy thing. This birth was particularly messy. The child's first moments in the world were as messy and disgusting as much of her life was going to be. She was born in the cold oppressive dungeons which was not a good sign. More superstitious citizens would have put a black mark against the child because of where she was born.

But the midwife was hardly a superstitious person. In one smooth movement, she swept the baby into her arms before Marcia even had a chance to hold her. The midwife raised the child above her head and shouted triumphantly. "Oh Madam Demarte will be so pleased with me!"

Marcia struggled to pull herself of off the ground. She was exhausted and becoming hysterical. "Why do you want my child?" she demanded, "You can have me if you want me but please don't harm her." In those moments, Marcia hardly seemed like her usual, controlling self. It was as if that side of her had vanished and had been replaced with the desperate, heartbroken waif that Marcia had become during her months in prison. Any human being with anything other than a heart of stone would have taken pity on this poor creature.

Unfortunately, this midwife possessed a heart of stone. In response to Marcia's plea, she cackled and rushed out of the dungeon carrying away Marcia's tiny daughter who was still covered from head to toe in her mother's juices.

When the midwife was gone, Marcia was suddenly overcome by all that had just occurred. At last, she realized what it had been like for Sarah Heap to lose Septimus on the day he was born. But at least Sarah had had her health then. Marcia was weaker than she had ever been, too weak to perform any kind of impressive **magyk.** Instead of trying to form a plan to stop the midwife, as she would have before she had become a prisoner, Marcia simply turned away from the bars of her cell and vomited. She had never felt so helpless in her life and she hated it. She had spent so much of her life being respected by others, admired, that she could hardly believe this was happening to her. Sadly things were only going to get worse.

Marcia noticed the shadow of someone coming toward her cell. It didn't take her long to realize it was Septimus. Marcia would have known him anywhere, even though she had not laid eyes upon him in months.

"What do you want?" shouted Marcia. She blamed Septimus entirely for getting her into this mess in the first place.

"To help you." Septimus replied, "But there is only one way I can save you. Tomorrow, at sunrise, Clarissa plans to have you hanged." Marcia grimaced in spite of herself. She didn't know how she was going to get herself out of this one. Septimus went on. "But as I said, I can prevent that terrible event from ever occurring. I have decided that I don't want to see you die, Marcia. I have tried to imagine life without you and I cannot. At first, I thought it would be a great relief to see you gone, but now, I know I would be miserable. So I have invented a way for you to save yourself."

Marcia didn't answer him. She was tired of playing Septimus's little games. They never got her anywhere.

When, at last Septimus recognized that Marcia had no intention of responding to his comment, he said, "Marcia, if you will have me, I will take you away from here. We would be together forever. I would treat you like a Queen and give you the true love you have been denied for so long. You would not have your children, but you could always have more with me. I would make you so happy. Marcia, you are a paradise that I dream of, but am forbidden to touch. If you come with me, I will be able to fully realize my paradise in a way I never dreamed possible. Will you help me do that?"

Marcia's answer came quickly this time. "Never!" she cried, "I would rather die in a few hours than have to spend the rest of my life with you, you disgraceful bastard! Leave my sight, fiend."

Septimus was enraged. What right did Marcia have to speak to him in this manner? He was offering her a way out of her predicament and she was throwing it back in his face. "Fine." He snapped childishly, "But no one will save you now, certainly not your Marcellus. He is dead." This was not true. Marcellus was still a prisoner, but Septimus's comment had its intended affect on Marcia. She became white as a sheet. Septimus continued, "And they have killed your infant daughter as well. Clarissa also managed to reach Zelda's cottage. Your other children are nothing more than a pair of lifeless corpses." Septimus was smirking at this point, all of his lies were working. Marcia tried to hold herself together, but she was crushed. Marcellus was dead? And the baby too? Marcia's will to carry on was practically gone. Finally she spoke.

"If my family is truly..gone. Then I see no reason to fight for my life. By trying to make me agree to run away with you, you have only succeeded in making me decide to go through with my fate. I am not afraid of death, Septimus. There are worse things."

Septimus rolled his eyes, as if Marcia's comment had been stupid indeed. "Very well." he said, "but you are doomed, Marcia. I have tried to help you but you obviously don't want to be helped. Farewell." With that, Septimus was gone.

As soon as she was sure he was out of earshot, Marcia burst into tears of despair. She thought of her beautiful family and for a moment, was looking forward to her death. At least in death, she might be reunited with those she held so dear to her heart.

Dawn came far too soon for Marcia. She spent most of the night sobbing over her loses. Marcia couldn't even remember the last time she had wept that hard. Also, even though she tried not to be, Marcia was still frightened by the prospect of being executed. So she sat in a corner of her cell, trying hard not to tremble until, just as the first rays of sun rose into the sky, Edd Heap arrived and opened the door to her cell. There were a few other men with him whom Marcia didn't recognize, most likely some of the young necromancers. In a few seconds, they had handcuffed her and were leading her to the center of the Castle, where the gallows were located.

When they arrived, Marcia noticed grimly that there was already a crowd gathered there to witness her death. She wasn't surprised. The people of the Castle could be exceptionally sadistic sometimes.

A hush fell over the crowd as Marcia stopped right in front of the hangman's noose. There was a silence. The citizens were doubtlessly expecting her to speak. In the Castle, all who were executed had a right to say any final words they wanted to before they lost their lives. Marcia knew exactly what she wanted to say to this sorry group of sadists.

"You're fools!" she said, her voice sounding surprisingly confident for a woman who is about to die. "All of you, disgraceful fools. None of you realize the danger you've begun by allowing Clarissa Demarte to take over our government and your idiocy will cost you dear. But I can't say I'm sorry. It serves you right." Marcia took a breath and went on, "I used to believe the Castle was made up of mostly good people. Obviously, I couldn't have been more wrong. You're all followers, like a stupid heard of sheep. You're mindless. Mark my word, my good ladies and gentleman, someday, the Castle will fall to enemies because of your stupidity and you will all suffer as I am forced to suffer today. I have nothing more I wish to say to any of you. I do not regret leaving you behind. But please know that, even though I am to die today, I am much more afraid for each and every one of you than I am for myself. Times will not be good for the Castle because of your careless ways." Marcia stopped. The people leaned forward, as if expecting her to say more, but she did not. Instead she turned and cast her eyes at the ground. The executioner tied the noose around her neck.

Marcia didn't know it, but Septimus had just gone to get Marcellus Pye from his prison cell. He and a few of the necromancers were going to tie him down and make him watch Marcia's execution. Septimus was doing this to get even with Marcellus for beating him on numerous occasions.

The people of the Castle held their breath, almost feeling guilty as Marcia walked onto the small wooden plank. Almost reluctantly, the executioner put his hand on the lever and pulled.

There were gasps of shock and horror, as there always were when a person was hanged in the Castle. Marcellus had arrived just in time to see his wife in the last struggles of the death, thrashing a little here and there. At last, she was still, like an object swaying in the breeze. Marcellus felt as though he might die. He wanted nothing more than to join his beloved even if it meant he had to die. Without Marcia, what would he have to live for? Marcellus could feel himself becoming emotional. At last, without turning away from his wife's corpse, he demanded, "Where have you taken my child?"

"She is dead!" lied Septimus with false glee. He actually felt rather wretched. He had just watched Marcia, a woman he had loved all of his life, hang right before his eyes. He felt like crying. What had he done?

Marcellus felt overcome with grief. Both Marcia and the baby were gone. What was he to do without them?

Septimus interrupted his thoughts. "Come Marcellus, I think you've seen enough. There's someone very important who desires to see you now."

Meanwhile, Clarissa was at the top of the Wizard Tower, clutching Marcia's newborn in her arms. "She's perfect!" Clarissa announced. "She will be my heir. Now, with her whore of a mother out of the way, she can be my daughter, my child." Then, she lowered her voice and whispered softly in the infant's ear. "You'll be the most powerful Wizard who ever lived. I'll teach you all I know, my sweet." After a moment, she laid the baby down on blanket and kissed her, the same way she had always wanted to kiss her son Cliff. That was the end of first day of Jaclyn Demarte's life.


	25. Chapter 25

Disclaimer: Let's see…I own nothing.

Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing everybody. I am at 92 reviews now so I beat my old record. Thanks to all who helped me achieve that. And thank you for not flaming me after reading the last chapter even though I can understand why you're ticked off. That being said, Arty's review made me feel like a million dollars. Thanks for making me feel not as guilty. But, don't get me wrong, I like all of my reviewers and respect your various opinions. All right, in this chapter, Clarissa and Marcellus have a little conversation, Sep and Jen "get it on", and we discover that Melissa Lyons has a very angry streak. I didn't intend to give her one, but I think the story will be far more interesting if I do, don't you? Don't worry, she's not going to be as bad as Misty Banda, but I do love writing crazy characters so much. I apologize. Melissa is important in the final scheme of things. I realized that almost all of my OC'S aside from the leading characters children are crazy. I guess that's one of my signature trademarks. Wait to you see the OC's that are currently children as adults…they're different. This story also doubles as my "second generation story, so you get to see these guys as adults. Oh yeah, I have one more thing to say. In the discussion forums, I have started two new topics. One asking who your favorite ships are and one asking your ideal Magyk movie cast would be. I just wanna make conversation. Answer them if you feel like it. Okay, on with the chapter. Let me say that this is incredibly boring, but it sets up the next few chapters all of which are extremely important.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Jenna learned of Marcia's death while she was at Nicko's house that day. Although she had been angry with Marcia, she still had no desire to see her be hung. Jenna wasn't a great fan of death unless she was instituting it. But, at the death of Marcia, Jenna's spirits rose. Maybe with that dreadful woman out of the way, Jenna might at last be able to win over Septimus once and for all. She had her fingers crossed. So that afternoon, Jenna was actually glad to say goodbye to Nicko. Instead of heading for the Palace, as she normally would have, Jenna went to the Wizard Tower. She had a feeling she just might find the person she was seeking there.

After Jenna left, Melissa Lyons emerged from the kitchen. Nicko looked up and smiled at her. "Hello Melissa. Come on, sit down beside me. Where's Theo?"

"Do you expect me to always know where he is?" Melissa snapped, wondering why Nicko never just wanted to see her alone. But then, she realized her tone was irony and she backed off a little. "I mean, he's just so curious that he sneaks off by himself to explore quite often. How can I keep up with him?"

Nicko laughed. "I suppose your right. But I hope he isn't getting himself into trouble. He does do that sometimes."

"Yes." agreed Melissa, a little too quickly. Nicko was silent for a moment, he seemed distracted. Melissa was pretty sure she knew why. "You're upset that you and the Queen are adopted siblings, aren't you?" she asked accusingly, "I've seen the way you look at her. You love her and I'm sure she knows it, Nicko. You're making yourself too obvious."

Nicko blushed a deep red, and Melissa half expected him to argue with her, but he did not. "Melissa," he said, "you are so clever. You are right, I'm not going to lie to you. I have grown very fond of Jenna in these past months, but I know my feelings are wrong. She is forbidden, something I can never have. Besides, what would Theo think if he saw me with Jenna? He thinks of her as his Aunt. I could never do that to him. A relationship with me would destroy Jenna's reputation also. The public sees me as her brother. After Merrin took stabbed himself months ago, I don't know if Jenna wants anymore public attention that suitors can cause sometimes. Melissa, I will never even allow myself to kiss Jenna because I know if I do I will be unable to stop doing so. I don't want to ruin her life or my son's."

At Nicko's confirmation of his love for Jenna, Melissa felt her heart sink. That was it, then. He would never love her. She had lost him. Unless of course…no no, that would never work, she could never do that, could she? Melissa was thinking fast, there was away she might have Nicko after all. It was a long shot but she was willing to attempt it. Nicko's love would be worth anything.

Meanwhile, Septimus had just taken Marcellus to see Clarissa, who had summoned him. Before he arrived, she hide his child, whom she was calling Jaclyn, in another room where she could not be seen or heard. By the time Clarissa heard a knock on her door, she was ready. "Come in, come in." she said, smirking a little as Marcellus walked into the room. "Marcellus Pye, what a pleasure."

Marcellus didn't answer. Clarissa went on, "Marcellus, the reason I have brought you here is that I need you to do a little something for me. After you complete this task, I will release you and you will be free to go. You can trust in this promise. I am a woman of my word, I always keep my promises. Your beloved wife can testify to that. Actually, no, I guess she can't." Marcellus looked as though he was ready to hit Clarissa, but she took no notice. "Ah, don't worry, Marcellus." Clarissa said, in a sickening baby voice that reminded him a little of Aurelia Kenston, a terrible ExtraOrdinary Wizard ghost he had had to deal with nine years earlier. "Thing won't be so bad. You'll find another lover, you found one to replace Broda and I bet you will be able to find one better than Marcia as well. As long as you give into to my request, then you will have a chance to find another wife."

Marcellus spoke. "I do not want another wife." He said, sternly. "I don't wish to endure losing another person I love. I lost Broda to old age, which crushed me and I never intended to take another wife. But Marcia changed my mind. Previously, I had not thought it was possible or healthy to love someone as much as I loved her. I cannot replace Marcia, she was my ideal partner, everything that I spent all those years waiting for...Oh it doesn't matter! You managed to spoil my happiness, as you have spoiled the happiness of so many others. You're a wretched woman and I will do nothing you request of me, even if it costs me dear to disobey you."

Clarissa scowled. "Marcellus, if you refuse to grant me my request, I can assure you that your two remaining children will suffer greatly." Marcellus paused, thinking of Romulus and Celesta and how much he adored them. He knew what he was going to have to do.

"All right, all right, Clarissa, what do you want?"

"I want to drink from that tincture you gave your wife nine years ago, the one for eternal youth. Once you provide me with it, you and your children are free to go, you will interest me very little. Your wife was dangerous, you are not."

Marcellus knew Marcia would have wanted him to protect Romulus and Celesta at all costs, so reluctantly, he agreed to provide Clarissa with what remained of the tincture. At least if he did that, there was a chance the children would be safe.

"Oh and Marcellus-" Clarissa started. Marcellus stopped. He had previously been retreating toward the door but he waited to see what Clarissa had to say. "You can go and see your little darling, you know." The sarcasm in Clarissa's voice was exasperating, but Marcellus realized the meaning of her words. She was going to allow him to go and visit Marcia.

Clarissa had granted him one hour, one hour to say good bye to his wife. Marcellus didn't even want to think of what he was going to do. Seeing her, seeing her dead would force him to face the truth. Even though he had been there to witness her execution, some part of Marcellus still couldn't believe Marcia was really dead, that she wasn't coming back. Marcellus knew he wouldn't even have the comfort of seeing her as a ghost. For a year and a day, her ghost would have to remain near the gallows. Marcellus knew very well that Marcia would detest that, standing around the one place she had finally been defeated, destroyed. He shuddered as he thought of it. Although he had constantly worried about her, deep down, Marcellus was starting to come to terms with the fact that he had never really expected Marcia to die. She had been so clever, so ahead of her adversaries. Marcellus could scarcely believe it had happened. He was still overcome with grief and denial.

In the Castle, the recently executed corpses were kept in a small building not far from the gallows. Then, after they had lain alone in the dark rooms of the gray, dreary building for a few days, Clarissa's followers would hang them up outside and the people of the Castle would throw vegetables and various other items at the corpses to exhibit their distaste for the person who had been executed. The bodies were left outside until they had rotted and then, at last, they would be thrown in nameless graves. Marcellus had no intention of allowing that to happen to Marcia, however, even if it was nothing more than her corpse. He couldn't even bear to think of the people of the Castle showing her such disrespect, especially now that he was to live in exile and could do nothing about it. They were sadistic and horrible. None of the people who lived in the city would ever understand what a wonderful person Marcia had been. None of them would ever realize what a good heart she had or how much she adored her family. Marcellus could feel himself shaking in anger. Clarissa had given him permission to make one request of her before he went into exile. She had been willing to give him "whatever he wanted" she had said. Marcellus had told her that there was nothing she could offer him that would be of any use to him. All he wanted was to get Marcia back and there was no way Clarissa could do that for him. Now, though, now that Clarissa's guard was leading him down the hallway of the small, gray building where the recently executed were kept, it occurred to him that he knew exactly what he wanted to ask of Clarissa, but he would wait until she came to get him, when his time with Marcia was up, to ask it of her.

The hallways in the little gray building smelled atrocious. Marcellus felt his stomach churning. Although it was rather dark in the halls, he knew that each of the rooms contained the rotting remains of various victims of Clarissa. What truly made Marcellus sick was that many of the people who had been recently executed had been innocent. He knew that, somewhere, his wife's body lay among them. He was suddenly thankful for the darkness that surrounded him. He could feel his eyes welling up.

At last, the guard stopped at the door of what appeared to be the largest room the little gray building had. "All right," he said gruffly, "In you go and remember you've only got one hour. The Mistress 'ill be down to get ya then and you can't argue with her. Got that?"

Marcellus was irritated. "Yes, yes, I've got it, all right?" The guard nodded approvingly, ignoring Marcellus's exasperated tone. He turned and left the room, finally leaving Marcellus alone.

Tentatively , Marcellus walked into the room and glanced around, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dark. There, in the pale light of a small candle, he could make out a bed of sorts that was badly kept up. The stuffing was leaking out of it and it looked as though moths had completely eaten through the sheets. He almost laughed when he thought of what Marcia would have to say about the place, but his joyful moment quickly came to a close when he saw who was lying on top of this cheap bed in this nasty house.

Marcellus caught his breath. He couldn't even speak. There lay his wife, still, lifeless. Until that moment, that second, the whole situation had seemed unreal to Marcellus. All of a sudden, Marcellus recognized for the first time that there was no escaping what had happened and he broke into a sudden fit of sobs, sobs that caused his poor body to shake uncontrollably and his handsome face to become somewhat distorted with tears. He was practically choking as he managed, finally, to approach her. She had been dead such a short time that she did not yet reek of rotting meat and decay. Marcellus ventured forward and took her hand in his. It was, to his dismay, extremely cold. His tears increased, but he made no sound. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. It still felt the same to him, small, thin lovely. For such a tall woman, Marcia had had incredibly small fingers and limbs. It had made her seem fragile at times to Marcellus and, although he knew she wouldn't have liked him thinking of her that way, it had made her even more endearing to him.

There is no more pointless thing in the world to do than talk to a dead person but Marcellus, so lost in his sorrow as he was, wasn't thinking clearly any longer. "Marcia," he whispered, "oh darling, I just don't believe this. How could they do this to us?" His voice cracked a little. "How could they do this to you? They've killed an angel, a sweet inoffensive angel." Anyone other than Marcellus Pye would have found his words quite funny. Marcellus Pye was just about the only person in the world who would think of Marcia Overstrand as an angel….except perhaps her children.

As Marcellus muttered those dear, impassioned words to his deceased lover, he started to think that perhaps in death, Marcia really would be his angel. He leaned down and kissed her cold lips, half expecting her to sit up and nearly bruise his lips with one of her passionate kisses that had always managed to both excite him and catch him off guard at once. But of course she didn't. When she didn't, he clutched her limp, thin body to his chest and buried his face in her hair. It was unkempt, seeing as Marcia had just passed the last eight months in prison. He could feel her bosom pressing up against his chest and noted that it was more swollen than usual. That was, of course, because she had just born their third child two days earlier, who, like her mother, was already dead. Marcellus fought the urge to vomit. Clarissa had been decent enough to tell him that Marcia's child had been a girl. That was all. For a moment, Marcellus closed his eyes, and imagined himself at Zelda's which was where he had pictured he would be when Marcia had the baby. He imagined Romulus and Celesta crowding their mother, eager to see their little sister. He pictured Marcia beaming, holding their new baby daughter in her arms. Then, his thoughts took a naughtier direction and pictured himself lying with Marcia after their children had fallen asleep. He pictured her sleeping on his chest, her thick dark hair covering him like a blanket, her arms wrapped tightly around him. Marcellus remembered how innocent Marcia had always looked when she was sleeping and her charming tendency to talk in her sleep that had always amused him when he had been awake to hear it. It occurred to him that she looked much like she was sleeping now. Her eyes were closed. Marcellus glanced from his wife's face to the ominous burn marks on her neck and felt anger rising in him. His beautiful, precious Marcia was dead, dead because of Clarissa Demarte and Septimus Heap. He had a sudden thought to join his wife in death, to end it all, but he immediately pushed the thought from his mind. His children needed him. Marcia wouldn't want him to be a coward.

He turned back to Marcia and kissed her cheek one last time before he released her from his embrace. Her skin still felt like soft velvet. Marcellus gently placed her head on one of the beat up old pillows and arranged her hair around her face. Lying there, in that disgusting little room, she seemed oddly out of place. She appeared positively angelic to Marcellus. He shuddered a bit more and his lips quivered. He thought of his children, what they would say when they found out what had become of their beloved mother and what they would have said if they had seen her lying alone in the dark in nothing but a thin black prison smock to wear. At least she looked more peaceful than she had when Marcellus had first arrived in the room. Marcellus allowed himself a tiny smile. It was almost as if Marcia knew he had been there. "I don't know how," he confessed, "but I'm going to keep going. I'm going to raise our children and I bet they'll be just like you. Witty, brave, charming…" Marcellus couldn't go on. The realization that he would probably never speak with his wife again, not even as a ghost, was starting to overcome him. "I love you. I'm going to miss you, sweetheart." he whispered, "I wish you could hear me now." He gazed at Marcia yet again and, for a second, it almost seemed as though she was smiling, that same little crooked smile she used to give him whenever she was amused or entertained. He shook his head. It must have been a trick of the light. It had to have been. But before he had time to ponder it, he was taken by surprise by the presence of Clarissa.

"What a touching display of grief." She sounded scornful. Marcellus was tempted to attack her, but he remained composed. There was something he had to ask her.

"I have decided what I want to ask of you." he announced. His eyes were blotchy and red and his voice was low and weak but he had to make Clarissa aware of his request. "Give my wife a proper burial."

Clarissa laughed, a shrill sound that made it clear she was mocking him, "What do you take me for-"

Marcellus interjected. "You are forgetting our deal. You said you would give me anything I wanted. You promised me you would give me whatever I desired. You claim to be a woman of your word. Honor that claim."

Clarissa was indeed a woman of her word, for the most part anyway. She obliged. By noon the following day, Marcia Overstrand's corpse had been placed in the finest graveyard in all of the Castle and Marcellus had departed, off to find his children and begin a life in exile.

Back in the Marram Marshes, the news of Marcia's execution had just reached Aunt Zelda. Zelda was mortified. How was she going to break the news to the children? Well, she wouldn't break it to Celesta. Quite frankly, Aunt Zelda guessed that Celesta would be too young to understand it anyway. But she had to tell Romulus. He was nine years old now and a very mature nine at that. He deserved to know the truth.

Zelda found Romulus shuffling through some paper in his room. "Romulus, darling," she whispered, "I need to talk with you."

At the mention of his name, Romulus jumped. "Yes, Zelda?" he asked politely.

Zelda swallowed. Romulus looked so innocent, so peaceful. She didn't want to spoil his day. This bad news could wait, at least until tomorrow. Zelda was in no mood to tell him now. "Dinner's ready." she said.

Romulus looked at her, puzzled. "Okay. Is that all you had to say?"

"Yes." She said, finally, "Yes it is." Romulus nodded, a little unsure. He had a feeling Zelda had had more to say than that.

Jenna was knocking on Septimus's door in the Wizard Tower. He responded to her knocks almost immediately. "Jenna!" he cried affectionately, "You came back."

Jenna didn't feel the need to explain herself anymore. Instead of trying to say why she had returned, she wordlessly took him into his arms and kissed him. They were never apart again until eventually, death separated them. That afternoon, Septimus and Jenna made love shamelessly for the first time since they were teenagers at Aunt Zelda's. Septimus had never felt so complete. At last, things were working out for him. Septimus and Jenna didn't know it, but their future offspring was going to cause some real havoc in the Castle. Marcia's predictions would come true.

Not long after Jenna and Septimus reunited, Melissa decided she was tired of waiting on Nicko to return her feelings. She wanted a little attention and she was going to get it. She came to the conclusion that, if she couldn't have Nicko, she was going to have to settle for one of his brothers. She set her sights on Edd Heap.

Things were working out for Clarissa too. Marcellus Pye had managed to get the tincture to her and she had drink from it without looking back. Now, she couldn't stop looking in the mirror. She was just as beautiful as she had been all of those years ago when she had been involved with DomDaniel. Clarissa realized that, if she was eternally young, she could rule the Castle forever. She wouldn't even need an heir. But she had every intention of keeping the Pye child for herself anyway. She had grown fond of her and Clarissa had always secretly desired a child. But Clarissa was true to her word. She released Marcellus and allowed him to rejoin his children. She no longer had any need for any of the members of the Pye family. Romulus was the only one who could perform **magyk **and he was only a child. With Marcia gone, they were the least of her worries. Finally, Clarissa could relax and control the Castle and that was just what she did for the next seventeen years. During that time, she came to love Jaclyn more and more every year. She was an inquisitive, kind child and was everything Clarissa had dreamed Cliff would be. Clarissa was relieved that Jaclyn had inherited Marcellus soft features rather than Marcia's distinct, sharper ones. She didn't know if she would have been able to look at Jaclyn if she had looked like Marcia. However, she did inherit one thing from her biological mother and that was her ridiculously curly dark. But all of the Pyes had gotten that, Clarissa was hardly surprised. Over time, Clarissa had discovered that the name Jaclyn was too formal for her "daughter." It was beautiful, but too formal. She decided to call her the pet name of Cara, a form of Italian word for love. Clarissa never showed Cara her treacherous side. All of the love she had pinned up inside of herself during the years since DomDaniel died came flowing out of her. She couldn't explain what made her adore this child so much, but she did. Now that Clarissa had the power of eternal youth she had no desire to teach Cara **magyk . **Deep down, Clarissa was afraid that exposing Cara to **magyk **would make her more like Cara grew and with every year, she became more and more beautiful. By the time Cara was seventeen years old, the stage would be set for one of the most troubling times in the history of the Castle.


	26. Chapter 26

Disclaimer: If I owned this, I would be very happy

Author's Note: Thanks to all who have reviewed. I am almost to one hundred reviews. I can't believe it. Thanks guys. From this chapter on, I am going to be dealing a lot with second generation characters because I promised I would do that and I don't want to write a whole other Septimus Heap story just to talk about my characters' kids. Don't worry though, all of my cannon characters will still be really important as well. After this story comes to a close and I write a oneshot for whoever wins my "list" contest, I believe I will no longer write Septimus Heap. Not because I am being a snob but because I don't have any more ideas for this category. But if I think of something, I'll let you guys know. All right, on with the chapter. Make sure and read this chapter carefully. It introduces a lot of OCs, I am afraid. This will be the last time you have to read for detail.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Seventeen years had passed since the execution of Marcia Overstrand Pye. In that time, several things had changed in the Castle. Six months after Marcia's death, the Queen had remarried. No one was particularly shocked to find out that she was marrying Septimus Heap. Even though he was her adopted brother, anyone with any kind of common sense at all could tell that the Queen had feelings for him. Eventually, she bore another child, a son this time whom she named Drew. Delilah, the Princess was still the lone heir to the Throne. Also, Melissa Lyons had married into the Heap family. Her husband, Edd Heap was very attentive and about a year after Drew was born, they too had a child whom they named Clayton. At last, the Heap family was beginning to expand again. There was Theo, Nicko's son, Drew and Delilah, Jenna's children, and now, there was Clayton, Edd's child. Seventeen years after Marcia's death, Theo, was twenty-four, a grown man. He was very interested in helping his father keep up the boatyard. Delilah was twenty as Princess, she was looking for a suitable husband. However, sadly, enough, Delilah was so focused on finding a lover that she found little time for anything else. Delilah was not gorgeous, pretty, but not gorgeous. Because of that she was having a hard time finding someone to marry. She was now so concerned with her looks that she had become quite shallow. Drew was nearly seventeen and training to become an extremely powerful Wizard. Septimus had managed to teach him all he knew. Clayton was busing tables in a tavern until he was old enough to get a better job. In the Castle, few people took sixteen year olds seriously. Clayton hated that. His mother had always told him that he could do whatever he wanted to and Clayton believed it. Clayton was young but she was not naïve. His nights in the tavern had taught him more than he had ever wanted to know about what the world was like. What he had not learned in the tavern, his mother had taught him. Melissa had not grown up in the slums and learned nothing.

Clarissa had enjoyed the last seventeen years very much. She had not only spent them doing the one thing her lover had always dreamed of doing, but she had also been able to share her triumph with someone she loved very much, her adoptive daughter, Cara. At seventeen years old, Cara was a striking sight. She didn't leave the Wizard Tower often. She was content to spend her hours reading in Clarissa's company. This thrilled Clarissa to no end. Secretly, she dreaded the day the Cara would marry. She couldn't bear to think of some man carrying off the only person she truly loved. Clarissa still had a definite evil streak in her soul, that was certain, but Cara had awoken a dormant love from within her. Clarissa made sure that Cara never knew the evil she had done. In fact, sometimes, Clarissa wondered if she was worthy of Cara's adoration.

Cara was innocent and in many ways, she was sheltered. She knew little of life outside the Wizard Tower and therefore, was still in many ways as innocent as a child. She dreamt of young men, but did not know many. Cara was in fact, so sheltered that she didn't even recognize how beautiful she was when she looked in the mirror. But Clarissa did and it frightened her. She hated this radiant, glowing beauty that poured into her daughter's face more and more with each passing day. Cara's appearance was part of the reason Clarissa tried to hide her from the world. If men saw her, they would court her, it was that simple. So even though many parents would have seen their child's beauty as a blessing, Clarissa saw it as a curse. The only other thing that had begun to frustrate Clarissa as Cara got older was that, occasionally, Cara asked about her father. Clarissa had told her he was "a self-serving bastard" who had abandoned her when he had discovered she was pregnant with Cara. Cara seemed to believe her, but the question made Clarissa uncomfortable all the same.

Cara's biological father, Marcellus Pye, had not been inside the Castle in seventeen years. He had raised his children in the countryside. Romulus was twenty-six and Celesta was twenty-one, both were adults. Romulus had never gotten to finish his education as a Wizard, so he had taken up alchemy. Surprisingly, he was more gifted as an alchemist than he had been at **magyk. **Before long, he was nearly as good as Marcellus.

Celesta was the stabilizing factor in their small family. She took care of her brother and father. She loved them both dearly, but sometimes, she wanted more than the life she was living. She had only been four when her family was exiled from the Castle and she remembered very little about it. However, Celesta was not sheltered like Cara. She had many friends in the Port whom spoke to often about the Castle. Celesta had fought with Marcellus many times about the Castle. More than anything she wanted to visit it with her friends. Whenever they went there, they always returned with the most adorable, colorful clothing . Not to mention the inside jokes they always had. Celesta couldn't understand why Marcellus forbade her to go to the Castle. It sounded wonderful. He allowed her to visit the port, didn't he? Why was the Castle so different? Celesta had few memories of her mother and they were vague. She knew that Marcellus had been exiled from the Castle, but she couldn't remember why. Whenever she asked Marcellus and Romulus, they refused to tell her. Celesta had a feeling that it had something to do with her mother, but she couldn't be sure.

Because her family was so secretive, Celesta had turned to others for comfort. She was seeing someone behind her father's back. He was a young hard working farmer called Oliver. Oliver's father, Jonathan, was in the Port's prison for theft. That was the main reason Celesta had yet to tell her family about her new love interest. Marcellus Pye was not the kind of man who wanted to see his daughter with the son of a convict.

Like Jenna's daughter, Princess Delilah, Celesta was concerned with her appearance, but she wasn't obsessed with it. But there were days when Celesta wished she was prettier. She was attractive, she knew that. Men in the Port made her aware of this when she visited. She was stylish, always wearing whatever was new. But she wasn't glorious looking. Celesta had gotten her mother's slightly pointed nose and sharp jaw. Eevn without remembering exactly what Marcia looked like, Celesta knew she resembled her much more than she resembled Marcellus. Marcellus's features were soft and kind, not quite as stern. Celesta also noticed the way Marcellus looked at her sometimes when he thought she couldn't see. There was so much pain in his face. Celesta knew that whenever he looked at her, he thought if her mother. Sometimes, that bothered Celesta. Wasn't she good enough? Why did everything have to go back to her mother? Deep down, Celesta desired nothing more than to be loved. Marcellus and Romulus loved her, but they were always busy. They thought her wants and desires childish and silly. So Celesta sought love in Oliver's arms, the love that she had been deprived of for her entire life.

One day, Celesta was doing a bit of shopping in the Port when she felt someone standing behind her. Quickly, she turned around just in time to see a lanky, rough looking boy, with charcoal colored hair. He was perhaps a few years younger than her standing behind her. "Hey." he said, his voice husky and rough. He had obviously been drinking. Celesta was immediately nervous. It was getting darker outside and there weren't a lot of people around. "Babe," the boy said, "What do you say you and I go have some real fun? You're the hottest chick I've seen all day. Do you like sleeping around? I bet you do, I bet you've got a whole string of guys you screw with. Why not add me to your list?" At this point, the boy reached out and touched Celesta's waist. Celesta pushed his hands back.

"Get off me!" she shouted, hoping someone would hear her. Someone did here her, but it wasn't anyone good.

"What have we got here, son?" asked a tall man with grayish blonde hair and striking green eyes. Then, when this middle aged man took in the sight of Celesta, his tone of voice changed from one of confidence, to one of shock. "Well, I'll be damned." he said under his breath. "It's a substantial spirit if I ever saw one. Get away from her, Drew. I need to take care of this myself." The man approached Celesta and whispered in her ear, "What the hell are doing here, Marcia? You're dead, I know you are. I saw your corpse hang from the gallows seventeen years ago. How is it that you are here now?"

Celesta didn't know what to say. She knew that Marcia had been her mother's name, but she remembered little else about her. Obviously, this man had known her mother. "I'm not Marcia." she managed at last.

Suddenly, a flicker of realization flashed across the man's face. "No," he muttered to himself, "Of course you're not Marcia. You're her daughter, aren't you? Do what she was like? Did your father ever tell you she was a vain, selfish, whore who didn't give a shit about anyone but herself? Did you know-"

Celesta didn't want to hear anymore. She pushed this man away from her and tried once more to cry for help. It didn't seem to be working. No one answered her and within moments, the man and his son, Drew, had pushed her to the ground. Celesta was petrified. She was a virgin and it was beginning to look like these men were going to end her purity, right then and there. But, fortunately, they were interrupted.

A young man, not much older than Celesta threw his fist into Drew and knocked him clear to the ground. Drew let out a cry of dismay and in that time, Celesta jumped to her feet. As soon as she was standing, the young man tossed her a knife. Celesta knew what he wanted her to do with it. She ran to Drew as quickly as she could and dug the knife into his biceps. Celesta had no desire to kill a man.

Meanwhile, her young rescuer was fighting the middle aged man. While Celesta was watching the two of them fight and holding a knife to Drew's throat at the same time, she noticed another figure heading in their direction. She would have known this figure anywhere. It was her father, Marcellus. Celesta felt afraid. What was Marcellus doing here? And why was he going to get himself involved in this fight? He wasn't strong enough to fight anyone.

Within seconds, Marcellus had joined the fight and was punching the middle aged man. Celesta was amazed. She had never seen her father act like that. Never. It was unnerving, but also kind of interesting. In those moments, Celesta was proud of Marcellus.

It didn't take Marcellus and her mysterious rescuer long at all to defeat the middle aged man. He and his son retreated, but the middle aged man shouted over his shoulder, "You'll pay for this, Marcellus Pye! I'll see that you and your family will be dead by the end of this year."

As soon as this horrible man had delivered his treat and left, Celesta turned to thank her mysterious rescuer only to discover that he was nowhere to be found. "He's gone." she whispered quietly, "Oh I don't even know his name." Then she looked at Marcellus and was about to thank him, when Marcellus wordlessly took his daughter into his arms.

"I almost lost you." he said, speaking more to himself it seemed, then to Celesta. "I was so stupid. They could have killed you. That man is so dangerous, Celesta, but you probably tried to fight him off by yourself. You're fearless to the point of recklessness. You're just like her." Marcellus blurted before he could stop himself.

Celesta began blurting things out as well. "Papa, who was that man? You know him and he knew my mother. He said so. He hated her, I think. Why don't you want me to go to the Castle? Why do you keep so many secrets from me? I'm an adult, I deserve to know."

Marcellus didn't answer for a moment, but then he said, "It's not time yet, Celesta."

Celesta let out an exasperated sigh. "It will never be time, will it?" she snapped. Marcellus was silent. He was going to have to tell Celesta something about her history soon, but he was dreading it. "All right, Celesta. Let's get home. I'll tell you everything."

Celesta's heart leapt. "Really?" she asked, hardly believing it.

"Yes." was her father's simple reply.

Back in the Castle, many people were celebrating. At long last, after three years of searching, Princess Delilah was finally engaged. Her fiancée was a man called Andrew Dupree and most of the Castle women were gushing about how beautiful he was. Delilah had been showing him off to everyone. The place she was taking him now was the Wizard Tower. She wanted him to meet Clarissa because Delilah figured that, if Andrew was going to live in the Castle, he deserved to know the ExtraOrdinary Wizard.

When they entered Clarissa's rooms, Andrew and Clarissa had a long conversation about various things. Delilah glanced around the room and pretended to be interested in the conversation. Andrew was in the middle of telling Clarissa about the place he had previously lived, when he stopped in mid-sentence. Standing in the doorway was a tall splendid looking girl with soft sweet features and long dark hair. Andrew found that he could no longer speak. He desired nothing more than to look at this girl forever. When he made eye contact with her, he could feel something shift within him. Her gaze was one that could move mountains. In those brief seconds, Andrew Dupree fell madly in love. His life would never be the same.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Melissa Lyons had never gotten over Nicko Heap. She had married Edd simply to spite Nicko. She had hoped that he would become jealous, but he never did. Overtime, Melissa had become used to Edd's ways, but she still missed Nicko. Nicko never remarried after Snorri's death and occasionally, Melissa wondered if, maybe she had stayed with Nicko a little longer, he would have fallen for her after all. She was thankful for the things she had accomplished with Edd as his wife, but she did spend many nights wondering what her life would have been like if she had managed to get her hands on Nicko. She was proud of her son, Clayton, but she looked at him sometimes and found herself wishing he was Nicko's son instead.

Clayton was not as stupid as his mother had hoped he was. He could tell she felt something for Nicko just by watching his mother's facial expressions when he came to visit. It made Clayton all kinds of uncomfortable. Nicko was his uncle, it was just weird. It also made him feel bad for his father, who seemed pretty clueless when it came to Melissa's obsession with Nicko. But Clayton knew that Edd had never been the most observant of men. He worried for his father. He knew that, if Melissa ever did get the opportunity to go after Nicko, she would do it in a flash. Clayton liked having the stability of a family and he hated to think of Melissa leaving Edd or vice versa. Because of Melissa's interest in Nicko, Clayton resented his older cousin, Theo, very much simply because he was Nicko's only son.

Theo didn't really give Clayton much thought. He was didn't see him often. Theo was an incredibly hard worker and he spent many hours at the boatyard, helping his father. Normally, his work consumed much of his thoughts. But in the last week or so, that had not been the case. Theo had spent much of his free time thinking of a young woman who he scarcely knew anything about. Nearly a week earlier, Theo had been visiting a few of his close friends in the Port. On his way home, he had heard a woman screaming. (Doubtlessly, the reader knows who this young woman was.) Theo had found her being tormented by two men he recognized. One was a government official who also happened to be his uncle, Septimus Heap, and the other was Drew, his son. But Septimus had not recognized Theo. He had seen him very little while he was growing up, as Septimus and Nicko were no longer close. But when Theo had looked into the eyes of the young woman he rescued, there was something so familiar, so welcoming about her that he had forced himself to leave without learning her name. He didn't want to think of a woman seriously. It would distract him from his work. But he was beginning to realize that he wasn't going to forget that girl's eyes, her face, her raven hair. She had been perhaps the most exotic woman Theo had ever seen. She wasn't beautiful in the traditional sense, but she was beautiful, Theo realized, in her way. It was getting harder and harder for Theo to focus and it was driving him nuts. At last, he made a decision. He was going to have to see that woman again. He didn't know how he was going to pull it off, but he was going to try. He thought that, maybe, if he saw her again, in broad daylight, he would realize that she wasn't all the great and forget about her. But somewhere, deep inside himself, he doubted this would be the case.

Of course, the woman Theo Heap found himself so fixated on was Celesta Pye. Celesta had spent the entire evening with her father in the sitting room of her house. They were both silent now. Marcellus had spent the whole night telling Celesta everything about her mother. Celesta didn't really know what to say. Before that night, she had barely known anything. She had not even known that her mother had been the ExtraOrdinary Wizard, let alone the small things. Marcellus spilled everything. He told her everything that had happened from the day he had first met his wife. He also divulged Marcia's secrets, her pet peeves, her quirks, her odd sense of style. By the end of the night, Marcellus had spilled so many details into Celesta's head that her memory was beginning to clear. It wasn't perfect, but she thought she could remember some of the things Marcia used to do. At last, Marcellus took out a little album of pictures and handed it to his daughter. Celesta's fingers trembled as she opened the tiny book into the palm of her hand. Celesta flipped through all of the paged, carefully turning each one to make sure they didn't tear. By the time she reached the end of the book, Celesta was crying. Marcellus looked as though he might cry too, but he said, "Celesta, it's okay, it's all right."

Celesta sighed. It was most certainly not all right. "Papa, it's not fair. I never got to know her. I never got a mother. I think I would have loved her. I think I would have loved her very much."

Marcellus took Celesta's hand in his. "Darling," he said, quietly. "she loved you. She still does. I know it."

Celesta went on, "And I had a little sibling too? I guess we'll never know what happened to him or her." Celesta got a determined look on her face that Marcellus recognized was very similar to what Marcia's expression had looked like when she felt particularly strong about something. "Papa, I think we should go back to the Castle. I want to give that horrid Clarissa Demarte a piece of my mind. She'll soon learn that she doesn't mess with my-"

Marcellus interrupted. "No, Celesta, no, it's far too dangerous. Are you out of your mind? Didn't you listen to a word I said tonight? I told you why were exiled. As long as we live in exile, nothing will happen to us. Celesta, if something happened to you too, I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

Celesta wasn't happy with his answer, but she didn't want to argue with him. She had kept a few secrets from him before and she could see she was going to have to keep another. "Okay," she said finally. "Okay, I won't go anywhere. I promise."

Marcellus nodded his head approvingly. "Good. Now, it's getting late, we both need to get to bed."

Celesta smiled. As soon as Marcellus was in bed, she'd have her chance. "Yes," she replied, "I'm tired." Quickly, she kissed her father on the forehead. "Good night Papa."

"Good night, dear." he said, sounding a little distracted. Celesta went to her bedroom.

After about a half hour had passed and she was sure Marcellus was asleep, Celesta headed down the stairs and tried to open the door that lead out of the house. She had to see the Castle, at least a little. She wanted to see the place Marcia had become so successful and eventually, lost her life. She wanted to see the little shoe shop her father had told her about, the one that used to keep a purple python specifically for Marcia's shoes. She wanted to see it all. Celesta was getting ready to get herself into more trouble than she could possibly imagine. She didn't know how powerful she truly was.

**AN- **I know, I know this is the shortest chapter I have ever written. But my mom wants the computer now and I had to post something today. My chapter tomorrow will be very long, I promise. I have a good idea.


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Celesta attempted to push the door to her house open, but she failed. It didn't take her long to recognize that Marcellus had bolted the door and hidden the key. But why? Celesta wondered to herself. Then, it dawned on her. She groaned. Marcellus knew her too well. He had locked the door and hidden the key just to keep her inside. Even though she had given him her word, he had still doubted her. That made Celesta feel a little hurt, but not hurt enough to give up trying to find a way out. She searched everywhere she could for a way to pick the lock, but she could find nothing. After about an hour of searching, Celesta was just about to give up when she heard a voice whisper, "There's another way out."

At the sound of this voice, Celesta jumped. "Who are you?" she stammered.

The voice didn't answer her question. Instead, it simply repeated, a little crosser this time. "There is another way out. Look inside yourself, Celesta."

Celesta was getting exasperated. "Where do you suggest I start looking?" she snapped. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your way out. Look, it's not rocket science. Just use your brain. Think about how badly you want to get out and don't think about anything else." Instead of arguing, Celesta did as she was told. She didn't know how thinking about escaping could possibly help her complete the task, but she did it anyway. Something told her she shouldn't cross this mysterious voice, whoever it was.

Suddenly, something began to change inside of Celesta. She found herself saying words that she didn't even recognize. Then, a purple haze enveloped her and in a flash, she vanished. Within seconds, she **appeared **outside a small home in the Castle. Celesta was puzzled and amazed. "Wait," she muttered aloud, "Did I just do** m..magyk?**"

The voice in her head, which had apparently followed her from her home said, "Of course. And rather well, I might add. I'm a bit impressed."

"Where am I?" Celesta asked groggily.

"You're outside the house that belongs to…Nickolas Heap, I believe. I wanted you to turn up here. He can help you. But hurry and get inside. You look too much like…well, just get a move on, will you? You're going to get yourself killed if you just stand there."

"All right, all right." Celesta replied, "I'm going. But do you really think I can just knock on his door like I own the place?"

The voice sighed, as if Celesta had asked a very stupid question. "Yes, go and knock on the door. It's what I would have done. You need to have confidence. Besides, knocking on strange people's doors is how I met your father."

Celesta felt as though she had been hit by a cyclone. All at once, everything made sense to her. "Mum?" she blurted, hopefully. There was no answer. The voice had gone.

Back in Edd Heap's household, Melissa had made a decision. She felt she was wasting her time by remaining married to a man she didn't love. She was going to try to get Nicko for herself. But first, she had to get Edd out of the way. So Melissa had devised a plan, not unlike the one Jenna had devised to finish Merrin. **( AN-**Evil, right? She's wretched.) Only Melissa intended to be a little more..subtle with her plan. Melissa's idea did not involve a knife. Her weapon was far less noticeable than that.

When Edd arrived home from work, Melissa fixed him a drink, as she always did. Only this time, she mixed a little arsenic in with his drink. She poured herself a glass of wine as well, just so he would suspect nothing. "Edd, dear!" she called, "Come and drink with me." She set the drinks down on the table and went into the pantry to get the cheese. Melissa and Edd always had cheese with their wine. It was a tradition. When she returned, Edd had already drunk half his glass of wine. Melissa's heart jumped, both from fear and excitement. In a few seconds, Edd would be dead. Melissa picked up her own glass and said aloud, "To my darling husband." Then, she sipped her own wine. Within seconds, Melissa fell to the floor. Her trick had backfired and it was now she and not her intended, who was dead.

When Edd saw his wife sprawled out on the floor, he panicked. He immediately suspected that Melissa had committed suicide. She must have put poison in her drink. Edd groaned. "Why?" he screeched aloud., "Why Melissa?"

At the sound of his father's cries, Clayton ran down the stairs. He had been preparing for work. "Dad?" he asked, "Dad, what's happened?"

Edd gestured wordlessly at Melissa. "Your mother..your mother's poisoned herself." he sounded desolate and unbelievably hurt. "She's killed herself and I don't know why."

Clayton was silent for a moment. He was sure he knew why. "It's because of Nicko, Dad. She was obsessed with him, that must be it. She couldn't have him and she was tired of being denied of her desired pleasure."

Edd looked surprised. "What do you mean, son?"

"Dad, were you blind? Mum was always so interested in Nicko. I say we go and have it out with that disgusting Uncle of mine. Her indirectly murdered my mother! Won't you come with me, Dad? Let's give that bastard and his sniveling son a piece of us."

Anyone other than Edd Heap would have seen just how stupid this plan was. But because he was who he was, Edd decided to go with his son and finish his brother. (**AN**-Jerk, no?) He was proud of his son for having such an aggressive approach to dealing with his enemies. Edd saw more and more of himself in Clayton all of the time.

Meanwhile, Clarissa was telling Cara good night. Cara was angry with Clarissa and Clarissa was trying to make up with her daughter. Clarissa had not allowed Cara to speak with the young Princess of her fiancée when they had come to visit and Cara had wanted nothing more than to speak with the young man who had come in with the Princess. She had seen the way he had looked at her and she couldn't help but wonder if he had felt the same bolt of lightning shoot through him when he had looked at her. Cara couldn't understand why Clarissa was so opposed to her meeting anyone her own age. It was obnoxious. As soon as Clarissa left Cara's room, Cara threw herself down on the bed and began to read, as she always did to get her mind off of her anger. After reading for about a half hour, Cara could have sworn she heard a rapping noise on her window. Suddenly, she felt very afraid. Who in the world would knock on her window at this time of night? Cara was frightened, but she was also curious. Curiosity was one of Cara's signature traits. Once she started contemplating something , she had to find out the answer, no matter what it took. So hesitantly, Cara pulled back the curtain to see who or what was at her window.

To her amazement, there stood the glorious looking young man she had seen earlier that evening, the Princess's fiancée. In spite of herself, her heart skipped a beat. What was he doing here in the middle of the night? How had managed to get there? But instead of asking these logical questions, Cara simply pushed the window open and allowed this young man to enter her room.

At first, she couldn't think of what to say. Cara had had very little experience with boys during the course of her life and she had certainly never had one standing in her room. Luckily for her, the young man did all the talking.

"Forgive me, miss, for coming so unexpectedly. I hope I have not frightened you. You see, I had to see you again. I didn't know when else I could come. I apologize for disturbing you, I never meant to. But when I saw you tonight, I felt as though God had opened a window in my soul. I can't explain it. I am not supposed to feel this way, I realize that. I am betrothed to her majesty. But, she does not excite me the way I was excited when I gazed into your eyes. I know you must be thinking, he is daft, he developed all of these feelings simply from a mere glance. My dear, a glance can change lives! You must believe me. You don't think me mad do you? I never felt true desire until tonight. Please, allow me to love you. I will end my engagement to Delilah if you are willing to have me. It will be better for all of us if you try to love me. Delilah will eventually find a man who longs for her the way I long for you and then she will be completely happy. Please, consider what I am saying to you. My sweet angel, at least think of what a life with me could be."

Cara was touched. Although she knew very little of this young man, she felt very content and comfortable in his presence. Aside from that, she found him very very attractive. She still wasn't sure what she could say to someone like him but she did manage to say, "Oh..oh my God" because her voice would allow her to say nothing more. It was as if her vocal chords were locked to one another. She felt she might faint. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought this boy would profess his love for her. The young man, who noticed she was quite pale, stepped forward and put his arms around her. Cara sighed in his arms. His embrace was warm and welcoming and Cara nearly lost herself in it. After a moment, the young man said, "I want you to know who I am. I am the son of a carpenter and I grew helping my father with his trade. I did this until I was nearly twenty-two, when I decided to move to the Castle and try my luck here. One day, one of the Princess's advisors saw me on the street and told her about me. Apparently, she had been seeking a husband for some time. I agreed to be her husband after all, what greater honor is there than to be the Princess's consort? Well today, I discovered that being married to a rich, well known woman will not make me happy. I will marry you or no one at all. But tell me everything please, I want to know everything."

"Everything?" asked Cara, "What do you mean?"

"About you." He replied, "I want you to tell me about yourself."

Cara looked into his beautiful, celestial blue eyes and began. "I have lived a very private life. My mother is Clarissa Demarte, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard. I never knew my father, he left before I was born. I don't often leave the Wizard Tower because Mother needs me here. I think she would be lonely without me. Please don't think her selfish for wanting to keep me here with her. She is a wonderful woman and has dedicated so much time to raising me. I would do anything for her." Cara paused, thinking of how upset her mother would be if she were to walk into her daughter's bedroom and find her with a young man.

The young man spoke again. "My dear, I don't think ill of your mother, she has raised a lady. Now, I have one more thing to ask of you. May I have the pleasure of knowing what you are called?"

Cara blushed. Why had she not told him that before? "I'm called Cara, but it's a rather silly nickname Mother created for me years ago. My true name is Jaclyn if you would rather call me that."

The young man frowned. "Why no! Why no! Cara is lovely. I shall like to call you that."

Cara beamed. "What about yourself? What is your name?"

"Andrew." He answered, "But what does a name matter? I loved you before I knew your name. You are splendid, a true angel." With these words which Andrew spoke like a caress, he leaned forward and kissed Cara on the lips. Cara smiled sweetly at him and continued kissing him. Finally, the blissful pair was interrupted by the sounds of gunshots coming from the street. Before either of them had time to comment on this, Clarissa burst through the door to Cara's bedroom, just in time to find her lying in the arms of Delilah's fiancée. "Cara!" she shrieked. Cara glanced at Andrew with dismay. This was going to be trouble.

**AN- **All right guys, that's it for this chapter. Lots of Theo, Celesta, Nicko, Romulus, and Marcellus in the next one. There's also a little mini battle that takes place during the next two chapters. I apologize to those who don't like violence. I'm not a sadist, I don't delight in making these characters suffer either, but in order for this to end like the tragedy I want it to be, there has to be a little..conflict at the end. Not all of my stories will have conflicts…


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Celesta knocked on Nicko Heap's door, she was nervous. She heard someone unbolt the door and slowly, it opened to reveal..her mysterious rescuer. Celesta was shocked into speechlessness. This night couldn't get any odder. First, she could have sworn she heard her mother's voice speaking to her which wasn't possible, was it? Now she was looking into the eyes of the boy she had feared she would never see again. Surely this wasn't Nicko Heap? Celesta decided to be bold. "It's you!" she exclaimed, clasping his hand in hers.

Theo smiled, shyly in return, he didn't know what to say when it came to girls. At last, he managed, "Hello, what are you doing here? It's late. Have you gotten yourself into trouble again?"

Suddenly, Celesta didn't know how to respond. She couldn't tell him an unknown voice led her here, he would think her mad. So she said, "I have a friend who knew where you lived. She directed me here. I wanted to thank you for what you did for me. Why did you leave so quickly the other night? Didn't you want me to see you?"

Theo's heart was screaming, "Yes, of course I did!" but Theo knew why he had hidden himself from this curious girl. He had not wanted to invite romance into his life. Unfortunately, it had invited itself in. He could no longer deny that. He decided to tell her the truth. "I live here with my father and I help him work in the Boatyard. I have always been a serious worker and that pleases my father. When I saw you, I felt something inside myself change. But I didn't want it to happen, I wanted to resist my feelings, to forget my thoughts of you, to deny that they are real. My God, I don't even know your name. How can you feel for a person you know nothing of?"

"My name is Celesta Pye." Celesta blurted excitedly, "There, you know who I am now. But I just wanted to thank you. If you are afraid that I will tempt you or distract you, I will leave. But, please, let me know your name. You are not, Nickolas Heap, are you?"

Theo shook his head. "Why no!" he responded, "That is my father. My name is Theo. And no, I don't want you to leave, not now that you have come all this way. Please, come inside, meet my father."

Celesta smiled. "Thank you." Once inside, she saw a middle aged man sitting before an open fire.

"This is my father, Nickolas Heap." Theo said. At the mention of his name, the man looked up. When he saw his son standing with a young woman, he seemed a little surprised, but he approved. But when he looked at her closer, something bothered him. The girl standing near his son was practically the spitting image of Marcia Overstrand. He waited for his son to explain.

"Dad," Theo said, "this is Celesta Pye, the girl I saved in the Port two weeks ago."

All at once, everything made sense to Nicko. Of course, she was Marcia's child! The one who had been a year or two younger than Theo. But what was she doing here? It was common knowledge that the Pyes had been forbidden to return to the Castle. Nicko couldn't imagine why Celesta had suddenly decided to return. And where was her father? Nicko decided that he wasn't just going to pretend that he didn't know Celesta. So in response to his son's introduction he said, "It's nice to see you again, dear."

Celesta was puzzled. "What do you mean 'again'? I don't believe we've met."

"The last time I saw you, you were four years old. You wouldn't remember me. You're Marcia and Marcellus Pye's girl. But what are doing here? I have a feeling Marcellus doesn't know. You do realize that you have been exiled and that, if anyone sees you here, they will have you killed."

"But, Mr. Heap, I have been gone for seventeen years, I doubt anyone will recognize me now."

Nicko sighed. "Celesta, trust me, people will be quick to guess who you are and who you're related to. Why, when you first walked in here, I thought you were Marcia. If you so much as show your face in front of our current ExtraOrdinary Wizard, she'll kill you. She hated your parents with a passion."

Celesta was insistent. "Well, maybe we could try to reason with her. I am not my mother; I never did anything to harm Clarissa or cause her grief. Neither did my father or brother. We have been exiled for seventeen years. That is a very long time. We could visit the Port, but it is not safe there, even my dearest of friends, Oliver, turned out to be a bad egg. At least the people of the Castle are good and just."

Nicko snorted. "Good and just. They're ridiculous sadists! Ever since Clarissa took over, this place has been awful. The crime rate has been ridiculous and executions take place left and right. Just before you mother was..well before she died, she stated that she believed the Castle would eventually become corrupt and fall apart. Boy, was she right."

Theo was trying to take everything in. "Wait, Dad, you mean Celesta is Marcia Overstrand's kid? You never mentioned she had any."

"You're not even supposed to talk about the Pyes in the Castle anymore." Nicko said grimly. "There's a punishment for it."

"A punishment?" demanded Celesta, "For speaking of us? Why?"

Nicko shrugged. "Clarissa and the Queen forbid it."

"Well, I am ready to put an end to all of this." began Celesta defiantly, "I want to beat back that disgusting Clarissa woman. I think we need to spare the Castle? Will you join me?"

Neither man answered. Before Celesta could beg them, there was a banging sound and the front door collapsed to reveal Edd Heap and his son, Clayton.

"Edd." Nicko said, trying to remain calm. "What a surprise. You could have knocked."

"I don't think I have a reason to knock politely at your door, not after what you did to my wife." Edd scowled.

"What the hell are you talking about?" shouted Nicko, "I haven't seen Melissa in ages, I wouldn't touch her."

"Lies!" shrieked Edd, "You're telling lies! You did something to my wife to make her lust after you. I don't know what, but you did. As a result, she committed suicide. Melissa is dead! It is your fault and you will pay."

Nicko was still trying to be reasonable. "Edd, Edd," he said, "Let's be intelligent here. I am horribly sorry to hear about your wife. I was fond of Melissa, but I did not desire her in that way. However, I can sympathize with you. There is nothing worse than losing a spouse. I still miss my Snorri." Then , when Nicko thought of Snorri, he remembered who he was talking to. Edd was the man who had destroyed his marriage to Snorri. He was the reason their marriage had failed in the worst way. Suddenly, he felt less like being nice. "Not that you could really understand what I went through with Snorri." He said, before he could stop himself. "You were too busy trying to take her from me."

Theo butted in. "Dad, what are you talking about?"

Nicko didn't answer his son. "Get out of here, Edd. Leave me be, I've suffered enough."

Clayton broke into the conversation. "Father, look!" he exclaimed, a smug grin on his face. "It's one of those wretches you told me about! One of the exiled wretches, the Pyes! You know, father, the ones you told me about? This little slut looks just like that picture of Marcia Overstrand! Not only is my scum of an Uncle a murderer, he's also hiding enemies!"

Theo answered Clayton before Edd could. "She is not a slut!" he exclaimed before he stop himself. Celesta smiled at him gratefully. But she wasn't going to sit there and take Edd's wrath. She was going to show him that people didn't mess with her. It was just that simple.

"Do you think you can terrorize me just because you work for that horrid ExtraOrdinary Wizard? Well, let me tell you now, you don't frighten me. Take me to your Clarissa, I'd like to give her a piece of my mind. Let me see your Queen and her despicable consort. Septimus Heap was responsible for my mother's death. I'll kill him. I'll-"

Theo put his hand on Celesta's arm. "Celesta." He said softly, "Septimus is the seventh son of the seventh son."

"I know perfectly well who he is." Celesta said snappily.

Theo spoke again. "Then, you must know that he is very dangerous and crazy. You don't know it, but you've seen him before. He and his son tried to rape you in that alleyway two weeks ago. That was him. Celesta, can't you see that you can't take him on? He's too dangerous. Besides," he lowered his voice, "killing him won't bring your mother back."

Celesta looked stricken and Theo felt as though he had reached the heart of Celesta's distress. She was trying to avenge Marcia. But instead of admitting it, Celesta murmured, "I know that." Why spoil her pride if she didn't have to? Confidently, she turned to face Edd Heap. "You will not hurt Nicko or Theo, not while I'm here."

Edd Heap snickered. "What could you do to me, child?" In a moment, though, Edd was no longer laughing. Without realizing what she was doing, Celesta shot a stunning curse at Edd. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Celesta could barely believe it. She had done **magyk **again! How bizarre.

When Clayton saw his father hit the floor, he was convinced that Celesta had killed him. "You bitch!" he shouted. He rushed toward Celesta, but before he could reach her, Theo ran at him and knocked him to the floor. "Run Celesta!" he yelled, but Celesta refused.

"Never!" she cried, "I want to help you." She was touched that Theo was saving her again. He was really something. By this time, Nicko had joined Theo in beating up Clayton. Before long, he joined his father, unconscious on the wooden floor. Nicko sighed with relief. Theo rushed to Celesta to make sure she was all right and for a moment, everyone was safe.

Their relief was short lived. Septimus Heap and his son, Drew, happened to be coming down the street not long after Edd and Clayton were defeated. Septimus had heard the sounds of commotion coming from Nicko's home and decided to go and check it out. Like Edd, Septimus burst into Nicko's home without asking for permission to come in. Drew followed him.

When Nicko saw his younger brother, his heart sank. "Septimus," he said, "let me explain."

"No," replied Septimus, "I don't think I will. I don't want to listen to you lies. You and your son have obviously harmed my trustworthy brother Edd and I won't stand for that." Septimus scanned the room and caught sight of Celesta. "Oh, it's you." He said, his eyes dancing in an amused expression, "Clarissa will be happy to know you're here. In a few hours, you'll be joining your mother under six feet of Earth."

Septimus must have expected Celesta to cower away from him after listening to his threats, but she did not. "Septimus Heap," she said, confidently, "You are nothing but a lousy pathetic fiend who needs someone to put him in his place. I am not afraid of you."

Septimus's amused expression faded. "And I suppose you know someone who will be able to defeat me, do you? I'm guessing you have everything worked out." He was mocking her and Celesta hated it. She was about to answer his disgusting questions when she noticed Edd Heap stirring on the floor. The spell was wearing off.

Meanwhile, at the top of the Wizard Tower, Clarissa was interrogating Cara. "How long have you been lying to me?" she shrieked. Then, gesturing to Andrew, she yelled, "You're going to hang at the gallows for associating with my daughter! She is mine."

"But I am not only yours, Mother." Cara said, and then wished she hadn't. She didn't often argue with Clarissa and when she did, she lost. Cara was much more quiet and passive then her spunky, outspoken sister whom she had never had the good fortune of knowing.

"You are mine. This wretch belongs to the Princess, but I see now that he is not worthy of her. He must die!"

"No!" cried Cara, "I..love him."

Clarissa laughed. "You love him? What a joke! Dear, you do not know true love, you have never experienced it. You are much too young."

Cara was about to respond, when another, louder gunshot was heard from outside. Clarissa decided in that moment that, as ExtraOrdinary Wizard, it was her duty to go and find out what was going on down there. She had no choice but to leave Cara and Andrew alone for a few moments. "I'll be back." She said, "But don't think you're going anywhere, I'm going to **charmlock **you in."

"Mother," protested Cara on last time, "Mother, please."

Clarissa didn't answer. Within a few moments, she had **charmlocked** Cara and Andrew into the room and was making her way toward the gunshots. It didn't take her long to realize that they were coming from Nickolas Heap's house.

At the same time, Marcellus had awoken to find his daughter gone. He had expected she would try to escape, but he couldn't for the life of him understand how she had gotten out. But that didn't matter. He knew Celesta had ways of getting out of traps that seemed impossible to escape from. She was like Marcia. So, just after midnight, Marcellus and his son, Romulus Pye, were heading off toward the Castle to find Celesta. Neither had any idea what was in store for them


	30. Chapter 30

Disclaimer: I think everyone more or less knows that I am not Angie Sage.

Author's Note: Hi, guys, this is it! Well, almost, there's an epilogue and then you'll be rid of me or this story anyway. You never know about me. I don't even really know what I am doing next yet. But I do know that I am writing a oneshot for the winner (or winners) of my creepy little game. The reason I started this game was not because I am a sadist, I just wanted to see how predictable I am as a writer. Unfortunately, I am proving to be…quite predictable. But anyway, because this is my last "official chapter" I thought I would thank everyone who had supported me now, instead of waiting for the epilogue. This story is for Izanami, Iluvcatz, Arty, xCryfortheGravex, and Adle-ami. I love all of you for sticking with my dark little tragedy here. I like writing tragedies but I don't want to give the world the impression that that's all I write. So I am going to "clean up my act" a little in my next story. Thanks for putting up with my madness. I want to thank Arty for calling me an inspiration even though I write total junk sometimes. I want to thank xCryfortheGravex for always asking awesome questions that made me think she was really interested in my plot. I want to thank Adle-ami for always reviewing when I least expected it. That made me happy, my friend, thanks for that. You always reviewed when I had had the worst day at school. I want to thank Izanami for always making me laugh. Seriously, some of your comments have been really hilarious. I want to thank Iluvcatz for always making me feel good about myself and my work. You're a sweetheart, my friend. I want to thank both Izanami and Iluvcatz for still supporting me after I ….finished Marcia. I know you both like her loads, but I promise, I didn't do it for no reason at all. But you two forgave me. I love you for that and I assure you that, if I write another multi-chapter Heap story, I will never finish her again. Speaking of which, I don't know if I will write anything else Heap related, but I am no longer ruling it out. Some of you guys really talked some sense into me-especially Arty and Izanami. Arty, your rant kind of made me wake up. It's hard to explain, but it did. So I have to ask you guys, even though I don't really have an idea yet, would you be offended if I wrote another Heap story? It would have no connections to my current stories. Have I worn out my welcome? I know I am kind of spamming up the category. It's okay to give your honest opinions on this, I want them. Anyway, I have loved writing for you guys and I bet you are totally fed up with listening to me talk, right? On with the last chapter.

Chapter Thirty

Edd Heap rose to his feet, a look of fury in his eyes. When he saw Septimus, he smiled and nodded his head. "My brother." He said, acknowledging Septimus respectfully. "I am glad you have come. My wife is dead and Nicko is the cause of her death. He is also hiding a dangerous criminal-one of the Pyes no less! As you see, we must finish him."

Septimus nodded his head again and spoke, "I agree, Edd, you have a good head on your shoulders. I am sorry about your loss. I know you adored Melissa. I pity any man who loses his wife."

"You didn't pity my father!" blurted Celesta boldly. Just after she said this, Celesta heard the mysterious voice in her head that had led her to Nicko's house hiss the words, "Shut your mouth, Celesta! You're only making things worse." Celesta once again listened to this voice. She was almost positive she knew who it was.

"You came back." she muttered, "Thanks."

"You need me more than I thought you would." The voice replied. Celesta didn't know if she should be offended by this comment, but she was so relieved to have this voice guiding her again that she didn't really concentrate on the comment itself.

Clayton suddenly decided he couldn't take another one of Celesta's outburst. He was going to make her be silent for good. Without any warning, he charged at her, his arms outstretched, ready to tackle her to the ground. For a split second, Celesta tried to think of a spell she could do that would help her defeat her attacker, but luckily for her, she didn't have to do anything. Celesta heard the sound of a gun going off and immediately, Clayton fell to the floor, his blood oozing out from underneath his torso. Celesta looked up to see where the gunshot had come from and saw Theo carrying a pistol with a shocked look in his eyes, as if even he couldn't believe what he had done. He was wearing the same expression his father had worn all those years ago when he had flown off the handle and shot Snorri. "I..didn't.." Theo stuttered, "Celesta, he was going to hurt you. I'm sorry, I never would have…I'm not like that at all."

Celesta clasped his hand in her and gazed into his eyes. "I know," she said, "I know. Thank you Theo, I do not blame you for anything. You're my hero." When she said these words, Theo blushed a little, but his face was still quite severe. He felt wretched. Because of him, his cousin wad dead. Although Theo and Clayton had never gotten along, Theo had never even dreamed of killing him.

Edd was furious. His last piece of Melissa had just slipped from his grasp. Quickly, he turned his gaze toward Theo Heap and shot a **thunderflash **from his out stretched right hand, straight toward Theo's heart.

Celesta knew she had to think fast. Before the treacherous spell could reach Theo, Celesta **returned **it. It backfired on Edd and hit him squarely in the chest instead of hitting Theo. "Well done!" the voice in Celesta's head exclaimed. Celesta smiled grimly. At least she had been able to spare Theo. After all, he had already saved her twice. It felt nice to return the favor. But like Theo, Celesta felt just a little sick. Edd Heap flopped forward like an old sock and joined his son on the floor. Even though Celesta knew Edd had been a truly evil man, she still felt bad for taking his life. She felt that it lowered her to his level in some way.

Septimus roared with anger. Not only had Clayton died, but now, his brother was gone too. In a fit of rage, Septimus charged at Nicko like an angry bull. He wanted to finish his obnoxious brother first, then he would finish Theo and that obnoxious Marcia reincarnation.

But Nicko was ready for Septimus. He had grabbed his son's gun and used the last bullet in it, he attempted to fire it straight at Septimus's middle, but because he was nervous and his hands were shaking a little, his aim was off. He hit Septimus in his left arm. Septimus screamed in pain. "You bastard!" he screamed. He opened his mouth to screech more insults at his older brother, but he was interrupted. Clarissa Demarte had arrived in Nicko's home.

"Septimus," she demanded, looking him over. "Are you having trouble with these worthless scum buckets? Sometimes, you hardly act like a seventh son. Step aside, I'll take care of this sorry lot." Septimus did as he was told. He hated to admit it, but Clarissa scared him when she was angry. Drew joined his father in the back of the room and left the ExtraOrdinary Wizard to her business.

Clarissa scanned the room with a cold calculating stare. She noticed Edd and Clayton's bodies lying in a heap in the corner and her eyes narrowed. She pointed a finger accusingly at Nicko. "You've killed my men!" she cried. "You will suffer terribly tonight, you devilish fiend!"

Clarissa raised her hand to curse Nicko, when Celesta stepped forward. She had a feeling the sight of her would startle Clarissa, at least for a second, and that, Celesta hoped, would be enough time for her to come up with a plan to defeat Clarissa once and for all.

Celesta was not mistaken when she predicted that Clarissa would distracted by the sight of her. When Clarissa laid her eyes upon Celesta, a strange expression flickered across her face. It took Celesta a moment to recognize that Clarissa's expression had been one of fear. "Why?" whimpered Clarissa aloud, "Of all the people who could have been, why on Earth does Marcia Overstrand have to be a substantial spirit? But you're not a spirit at all, are you? You've come back from the dead! I am cursed, I am cursed!"

Septimus was surprised by Clarissa's behavior. Normally, she remained calm through everything. But she really seemed to believe that this was Marcia Overstrand she was dealing with. Septimus could understand why it frightened her. Clarissa had ordered Marcia's execution and seeing what appeared to be Marcia in one piece would have been disturbing indeed. Septimus decided to put Clarissa's mind at ease. Trying his best to ignore the pain in his arm, Septimus said, "Clarissa, that girl is not Marcia, it is her daughter, the Pye wretch."

At these words, Clarissa's frightened expression changed into one of glee. "Ah, Miss Pye, it's a pleasure to see you. Unfortunately, though, I won't be seeing you long. But I promise I'll make your death quick and painless, you don't have to worry." Then, turning to Septimus, Clarissa said, "You and your son may return to the Palace to look after your wound. I have no need for you here." Septimus did as he was told. After he was gone, Clarissa turned her attention back to Celesta.

Celesta hated the sound of Clarissa's voice. It sounded so smooth, so confident as if she already had Celesta in her grasp. Well Celesta wasn't going to stand for it. "Clarissa Demarte," she began in a defiant voice, "You have spent the last seventeen years destroying the Castle and I intend to stop your path of destruction tonight. I have no doubt that, by tomorrow morning, you and your followers will join Edd Heap and his son in death. We will find a suitable ExtraOrdinary Wizard to replace you and at last, your horrid schemes will be over."

Clarissa cackled. "My dear, stupid child! By the end of this hour, your life will be at its end! How dare you challenge someone of my power and strength? You are foolish indeed!"

Celesta remained composed. "All right, then," she said, "Let's settle this. I challenge you to a duel, Clarissa. We'll see if you're really everything you say you are."

Nicko's face froze in panic. "No Celesta!" he yelled, "No, that's crazy, she'll kill you."

Celesta didn't answer his comment. Instead, she turned to Theo and whispered. "I couldn't help but notice that there is a hatch in the floor here. It leads to the ice tunnels, I presume?" Theo nodded and Celesta continued, "As soon as I begin dueling Clarissa, I want you and your father to escape through the hatch. Clarissa will be so distracted by me that she probably won't even notice your gone. Please, do it, Theo. It's for your own safety."

"I don't want to do that." Theo said, "I don't want to leave you alone. Dad's right, you're going to get yourself killed." (**AN-**Guys, where have we heard this before? History repeats itself...)

Celesta was somewhat afraid that Theo was right, but she wouldn't admit it. "Don't be daft. I'll be fine. I'll come and **find **you as soon as I can, I promise."

Theo could tell Celesta wasn't going to give up. He had to admire her for her bravery. He flashed her a weak smile and said, "All right, all right, okay. But if anything happens to you I won't forgive myself."

Celesta returned his smile. "Relax, just get your father out of here." Before she could say another word, Clarissa interrupted her.

"You may not whisper before a duel. Come and join me in the middle of the floor." Despite her calm demeanor, Celesta's heart was beating very quickly. She tried to keep Clarissa from noticing that she was shaking, but it was futile. Clarissa could hear Celesta's heart beating and Clarissa knew just how afraid her challenger was.

"I am the ExtraOrdinary Wizard." She boasted. "You will never defeat me. My skills are far superior to any of yours. You are a disgrace and I am going to demoralize you just like a demoralized your mother when she was about your age. Of course, she managed to survive by a rare stroke of luck. You will have no such luck. You are finished, you vain bitch, completely finished."

Celesta didn't respond. She was trying to save her energy for fight. It was beginning to dawn on her just how stupid her decision to fight Clarissa had been. But there was no turning back now. Clarissa pretended to look bored. She yawned and ran her fingers through her long, golden hair. Suddenly, the voice in Celesta's head entered her thoughts.

"Hit her with a **Thunderflash** now, she's distracted. That's the way you win these things. You have to get the first move."

At the sound of this advice, Celesta nodded her head. She quickly did exactly as she was told. She hit Clarissa with a** Thundeflash**, but it only hit Clarissa's leg. Clarissa screamed in pain and her face took on a horrible, angry expression. Celesta groaned. She had just managed to make things worse. She glanced around the room quickly, looking for Theo and Nicko. To her relief, they had apparently done as they were told. The hatch was open and there was so sign of either of them anywhere. Celesta sighed. At least they were safe.

To Celesta's amazement, she actually managed to hold her own against Clarissa for a whole half hour. But once that time had passed, she found herself becoming more and more exhausted. The voice in her head was trying to encourage her, but she was running out of energy fast. Just when Celesta was sure she wouldn't be able to take anymore, her situation got even more dire. Two men ran into Nicko's house. Celesta would have known them anywhere. "Papa, Romulus, what are you doing here?" she cried.

"That's a question I'd like to ask of you." Marcellus said, obviously beyond annoyed. Celesta knew she was going to have some explaining to do if she ever got out of this. But right, now she just had to get her family out of danger.

"You guys can't stay here." She exclaimed, dodging Clarissa's stun curse that shot right past her. "She'll kill you."

Romulus looked miffed. "Look, I didn't come all the way out here to watch Clarissa Demarte kill you. I remember enough **magyk **to help you and that's what I intend to do." Without waiting for an answer from Celesta, Romulus stepped forward and struck Clarissa with a perfect **Thundeflash**. Clarissa wailed in pain, but did not fall. She was so experienced with **magyk **that she had a tolerance for **Thunderflashes** that most Wizards did not. But Romulus's attack did anger her and she turned her attention to him.

"Now look what you've done!" Celesta snapped, "She's going to hurt you, I know it." Just as Celesta spoke these words, another **Thunderflash **came from out of nowhere and nearly hit Clarissa. Celesta quickly realized that the **Thunderflash** was not her brother's.

"Damn it!" cried a gruff man's voice from the front of the room. "I nearly had her." Celesta looked up and nearly barfed from confusion. There standing in the open doorway, was Septimus Heap. Why was Septimus Heap trying to kill Clarissa now? Just thirty minutes earlier he had seemed so supportive of her. Was he honestly trying to spare the lives of her family? Celesta's head was spinning with questions that she had absolutely no answers to.

Romulus actually verbalized the question that described all of Celesta's questions at once. "What the hell?" he exclaimed.

Septimus looked at Romulus with a severe expression. "Get out of here. I'll finish this."

"But why?" Celesta asked, "Why are you doing this? You hate us."

Septimus gave Celesta a sad look, as if she had just said something truly awful. "I wanted to hate your family, you in particular, but I can't. Just moments ago, when I saw you speak out so boldly against Edd and me, you reminded me so much of your mother that I could barely focus on killing you. I recognized how wrong I have been over the past seventeen years. I have made your family suffer and no woman with your spirit deserves to suffer. I have become a monster, Celesta, a complete monster. I am sorry. I know it will never be enough, but I am. I loved your mother very much. I tried to push that out of my mind, but it has always been there. I don't know how I loved her anymore, but I am not sure I want to know. I love Jenna romantically, that is clear to me. But my love for your mother never has been clear. So because I couldn't figure out what I felt for her, I took her from you. I can no longer go on pretending to hate your family. I thought all of this over while I was at the palace, using a few different tinctures to fix my arm. I realized that, even though you will probably always hate me, I still want you to know that I regret all of the pain I have caused, you, your brother, and your father. But leave here, please. Save yourselves."

Celesta didn't know what to say. She glanced at Romulus and Marcellus. None of them wanted to accept Septimus's apology because, frankly, they still blamed him for their misfortune. So instead of responding to him, they walked out of the house, leaving Septimus to duel Clarissa alone.

Once they were outside, Celesta heard the voice in her head once more. "Celesta, I need you to go to the top of the Wizard Tower and free a young man and a young woman who Clarissa **charmlocked **into the room. This is really important. Tell Romulus and your father to go to the Palace and get Theo and Nicko. They have fled there."

Celesta turned to Marcellus. "Papa, I need you and Romulus to go to the Palace and get Nicko and Theo. That's where they are now. I've got to go to the Wizard Tower and finish things there."

Marcellus looked dismayed. "No." he said firmly, "I've had quite enough of you wandering off by yourself all of the time."

Celesta looked into Marcellus's eyes. "I have to go to the Tower alone. Just trust me, okay? No one will hurt me. Clarissa's dueling Septimus, what could possibly happen. Besides, Nicko needs you. He's probably trying to reason with Jenna right now."

Marcellus paused. He knew that Celesta was very stubborn when she had to be and he didn't feel like arguing with her. "Okay," he said, finally, "But be quick."

Celesta smiled. "Thank you." She said, kissing him on the cheek. "I will be. I'll join you at the Palace before you realize I'm gone." With that Celesta headed toward the Wizard Tower.

Meanwhile, Nicko was trying to persuade Jenna to assist him in a fight against Clarissa. "Jenna," he was saying, "Jenna, I'm your brother. Surely you will support me over Clarissa Demarte. I love you, I want what's best for you."

"Septimus supports Clarissa." Jenna sneered, "Why shouldn't I?"

"Because I believe Septimus is wrong in this case." Before Nicko could get another word out, Jenna screamed in fury.

"Septimus is never wrong! You're no brother of mine, you bastard! Guards!" she cried, "Guards, finish him now, right before me. I want to see him gone."

Immediately, the guards began closing in on Nicko and Theo who were becoming very nervous. Suddenly, five of the guards fell to the floor, dead. Jenna looked up to see what had caused the deaths of her men. There, standing before her, were Romulus and Marcellus Pye, followed by a whole group of Ordinary Wizards who decided to join the Pye's cause. Jenna was dismayed. The odds were against her now.

At the same time, Celesta had just use a reverse incantation to break into the room at the top of the Wizard Tower. Sure enough, there sat the young couple, looking terrified.

"It's all right." She whispered, "I don't want to hurt you. I'm helping you get out of here. But you cannot stay in the Castle once I free you. It is not safe here anymore. You must leave. Go to the Port, the Marshes, the Farmlands. Anywhere but here. Understand?"

The couple nodded and murmured "Thank yous." When they reached the door, the young man turned to Celesta said, "My name is Andrew and this is my beloved Cara. Someday, we will pay you back for what you have done for us. May I have the pleasure of knowing your name? I will never forget it."

"Celesta Pye." Celesta replied, crisply. She was not really listening to the man. She was taking in every detail of Cara. "Do I know you?" Celesta asked, "You seem familiar somehow."

Cara was glancing at Celesta as well. Something about the way celesta looked seemed familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. "No," she said, "I don't think we've met. But thank you so much for what you have done for me. I will never forget it." She reached forward and kissed Celesta's hand. Then, the couple was off, down the dark corridor and out of sight. As she watched them go, Celesta felt an emptiness she couldn't explain.

Back at the Palace, Romulus, Marcellus, Theo, and Nicko were surviving a mad house. There was a huge battle in the main hall. Many of the Ordinary Wizards were fighting the Palace guards and blood was being shed left and right. The battle was showing no signs of letting up. When Celesta **Transported **herself from the Wizard Tower to the Palace, she ended up right in the middle of the fight. Marcellus had been beating up a tall, skinny man, when he saw his daughter enter the room. Despite the circumstances, he smiled. She was all right, at least for now.

The battle raged on until it was interrupted by Clarissa Demarte and Septimus Heap. Apparently, neither of them had been able to defeat the other in a duel. Clarissa was running into the Palace like a jackrabbit and Septimus was chasing her, trying to stop her.

Everyone in the room stopped fighting and watched mesmerized as Clarissa stopped right in front of Jenna and raised her arm slowly and deliberately. Then, there was a terrible cracking noise as a killing curse shot from Clarissa's outstretched arm and hit Jenna in her chest. She screamed and toppled to the ground. At long last, Queen Jenna's reign was over.

"No!" screamed Septimus, "No! No! No!" He ran at Clarissa and jumped on her, pushing her to the ground. She struggled with him, but he got a good hold of her throat and pushed on it harder and harder until finally, her body gave out. Clarissa Demarte was dead.

All of the Castle citizens were confused and silent. They had figured that Septimus would eventually rebel against Clarissa, but they had never imagined it would happen like this.

Septimus seemed to be in a daze. He looked around the room. First, he looked at Jenna, the true love of his life whom he would never hold again. Then, he looked at the Pyes who were gazing at him with expressions of contempt and relief mixed together. He noticed Theo with his arms snaked around Celesta's waist. He saw Nicko standing beside his son, glaring at Septimus. Septimus moaned to himself. Jenna was gone, Marcia's family hated him, what was left of his own family detested him, most of his family was dead, and there was no sign of his son, Drew anywhere. Septimus gazed out of one of the Palace windows and when he did, he caught sight if the gallows in the distance, the hangman's noose was swinging in the breeze. "Oh!" he cried, sounding much like a madman, "Oh, look what I have done! I am so foolish! By trying achieve power and success, I have lost everything that has ever mattered to me. I have lost everyone I have ever loved!"

AN-Yep, I planned that line from the beginning. I'll announce the contest winners at the beginning of the next chapter. There's still an epilogue that will kind of tie up all of the loose ends, so don't worry about that. You'll get to find out what happened to everybody. Thanks to all who have read my work. I love you


	31. Chapter 31

Epilogue

Peace eventually returned to the Castle. A young talented hopeful Wizard called Georges Ramsey took Clarissa Demarte's place as ExtraOrdinary Wizard and eventually, he took on Celesta Pye as an apprentice. Celesta was delighted to receive this position because she knew that it took her a step closer to perhaps becoming the ExtraOrdinary Wizard herself, something that she now desired to do very much. She had come to love **magyk **and the feeling of happiness it gave her. She also loved Georges's quiet, kind demeanor. He was rather easy to get along with.

During her years as apprentice, Celesta spent more and more time around Theo Heap. Celesta didn't admit it verbally, but she knew she was in love with Theo. Nearly everything about him was the opposite of her and that complimented her and helped her stay sane. Theo was like her second half in a lot of ways. He completed her. Eventually, she had even told him about the strange voice she occasionally heard in her head, the voice that she was positive belonged to her mother, Marcia Overstrand Pye. Theo listened to everything and really seemed to understand Celesta better than anyone else. She was eternally grateful to him.

Marcellus Pye moved back into the Castle so that he could be close to his daughter. Romulus had learned almost everything he could from his father at this point and he was now an excellent alchemist and physician. For the first time in hundreds of years, the Castle was starting to see that alchemy and physic were important, and once again, Marcellus had become one of the most respected men in the city, just as he had been in his Time. Now, though, the people gave his son, Romulus equal respect.

There was actually much talk of Romulus amongst the citizens. He had begun to see the unwed Queen, Delilah, on a pretty regular basis. There was a rumor that he was courting her, though no one had proved the rumor true or false. All that could be said for the young Queen's relationship with Romulus was that whenever he came to visit, the usually sour woman was smiling for the rest of the afternoon. Also, whenever a Castle citizen mentioned Delilah to Romulus, he would blush and change the subject. Delilah and Romulus's actions certainly supported the rumors.

Marcellus was truly content for the first time since Marcia had died. Living in the Castle made him feel as though he was somehow connected to Marcia in a way he hadn't been when he had lived in exile. Some nights, he would have such vivid dreams of her that he would awake expecting to see her lying beside him. Those types of dreams were hard on Marcellus. Even after all of the years Marcellus had been separated from her, Marcellus's love for Marcia had not gotten any weaker. He still loved her with a passion. One night, after Marcellus had a particularly detailed dream about his wife, he had woken up nearly in tears. But a voice stopped him from crying.

"Marcellus, dear, don't cry. You know I find it unbecoming."

When Marcellus heard this voice, he nearly jumped out of his skin. It was undoubtedly Marcia. "Is..I..Oh." Marcellus was stuttering uncontrollably.

Within seconds of speaking to him, Marcia **appeared **to him. Marcellus felt his heart fill with a kind of joy he had not experienced for some time. "You managed to raise the children without me. I knew you could. But you didn't, you didn't have enough confidence in yourself, Marcellus. That's why I couldn't **appear** to you before now." Marcia said, "But I wanted to so badly. You have no idea how much. But you should be proud of me. I waited. And my patience could use a little work." Marcia was a bit sheepish when she admitted she was impatient. Marcellus smiled. Marcia had always hated admitting her weak spots. Marcellus wanted to say something to his wife, but he was still in so much shock he could hardly manage a sound. At last, he spit out the words he had been longing to say to Marcia for many years.

"I love you."

Marcia smiled. "I love you too Marcellus." She whispered, "And I promise I'll never leave you again." Marcia was true to her word. From that night on, she came to visit Marcellus every night. He was no longer lonely.

Nicko Heap had also been having a successful year. The Boatyard got more and more successful every year. He was well respected around the Castle and because of his good reputation, he was now making more money than he ever had before. He was content with his life. There were no more wars and violence. Now, he could at last concentrate on the things that made him happy: his business and his son, Theo.

Cara and Andrew were also enjoying what made them happy. Shortly after they fled the Castle, they eloped and bought a house on the edge of the Marshes, not far from a very old white witch called Zelda who took immediately took a liking to the young couple and often paid them visits. After a while, Zelda began to feel that she recognized Cara from somewhere. She didn't believe that Cara was really Clarissa's child, even though she claimed to be. So one night, Zelda went to the duck pond and asked it to show her the mother of Cara. She wasn't particularly shocked to see Marcia Overstrand's face flash back at her in the moonlight. Zelda knew she had to tell Cara, but more importantly, she had to tell Marcellus.

So that was how was how Cara was finally reunited with her family. She and Andrew moved into the Castle and before long, Celesta and Cara were very close, as if they had never been apart at all. Finally, the Pye family was coming together again.

As for Septimus Heap and his son, Drew, neither was seen again after the day Clarissa died. Both of these men vanished without a trace. The Castle citizens searched for both of them relentlessly, but to no avail. Eventually, they gave up. They couldn't trace them.

One day, about six months after Septimus disappeared, a few gravediggers were digging a grave for a very old townswoman who had recently passed. On their way to dig a grave for the old woman, the grave diggers had to pass the graves of two of the Castle's most famous women, Queen Jenna Banda Heap and Marcia Oversrtand Pye. When the tallest of the grave diggers passed these graves, he realized that something was wrong. "My friends," he called to the other grave diggers, "look at these graves. The Queen's grave has fresh Earth upon it. It looks as though she has just been buried, yet she was buried six months ago. And look, Madam Overstrand's grave has fresh dirt on it as well and she has been dead for seventeen years. Men, if I didn't know better, I would say that someone has been digging through these graves."

A short, round grave digger spoke. "But why would anyone want anything from the graves of the Queen and the ex ExtraOrdinary Wizard?"

"I don't know." the tall grave digger admitted. "But I believe there is only one way we can discover whether or not people have messing with the graves. We're going to have to dig them up and see what is left, otherwise, we'll never know if anyone has stolen anything from the graves."

At this, a few of the men groaned. There was nothing that sounded worse than digging through a couple of old graves, but the men knew they had no choice. As grave diggers, it was their duty to check out anything that seemed suspicious in the graveyard. So the men began to dig. They decided to dig up Marcia's first. They dug and dug but to their dismay, they could find nothing left of her. Someone had taken her remains. A few of the men dug through the Queen's grave with the same terrible results: the Queen's corpse was gone as well.

"What would anyone want with a couple of old corpses?" one of the men demanded in a frustrated voice. None of his friends answered him. Honestly, they didn't know the answer.

Suddenly, the short round digger broke the silence, "Look!" he exclaimed, "Over there!"

The men looked. There, in a tiny corner of the graveyard was an unmarked grave that looked as though it had been dug a few months back. The gravediggers felt stupid. They couldn't believe they had never noticed this grave before. It certainly wasn't one they had dug.

Cautiously, the men approached it. The tall man said, "Let us dig it up and see what lies inside." So the men dug in silence for a while until at last they came to the bottom of the whole. There, lying in the deepest part of the pit, was a sight that caught all of the gravediggers completely off guard.

There were three corpses. The first corpse had obviously been **magykally restored **by a Wizard who had come across her body. She was in one complete piece even though she had been dead for years, not a bit of her had rotted away. She was a tall, voluptuous figure with long curly dark hair, emerald eyes, and a sharp jaw. There was another woman's body too. She had not been dead as long and was still recognizable. She was petite and wore a dress of fine silk. Her straight, dark hair was soft and lovely. Nothing could be said of her eyes, for they were closed. However, the men had a feeling that the woman's eyes would be violet. The last body proved to be the biggest surprise.

It was the body of a man who was decaying more quickly than the women. Obviously, no one had **restored** his body. This man had his arms around the waist of the smaller girl and his left hand was tightly grasping the hand of the taller one. The men could tell by looking into his eyes that he was a Wizard. He had the same emerald eyes that the taller of the two women had. His hair was blonde with gray flecks in it. It didn't take the gravediggers long to come to the conclusion that this man had been the one who had dug up the graves of Marcia Pye and Jenna Heap and for whatever reasons, he had **restored **their bodies and buried them in another grave. But instead of burying them alone, he had buried himself as well. The gravediggers examined this man's body, but they failed to find what had caused his death. After studying the corpse for a while, the men decided that only one thing had caused the death of this man and that was the loss of a will to live. The men were right. The man lying in the grave was none other than Septimus Heap and he had entered the abyss of death because he had no desire to keep on living without the two people he loved most in the world. So he had joined them in the graveyard because he had decided that, in the end, death with these people he loved so dearly was far better than life without them.

**AN- All right, that's it guys. Yes, Sep died, but because this is the epilogue, his death doesn't count in the contest. I had this ending imagined from the beginning. I know, it's creepy, but I promise, after this story, I'm through being totally wacko for a while. Lots of love for all of you from the nuttiest author on the site. I think I may write more for you guys, you are just too cool.**


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